John Holland Pty Ltd (ACN 004 282 268) v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (No. 2)

John Holland Pty Ltd sought relief from the Federal Court of Australia against the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and two other unions for alleged unlawful entry onto a construction site. The unions had officials who entered the site under provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) (WR Act) to speak with employees. The primary issue before the court was whether the unions' officials had a legitimate basis to enter the site under section 760 of the WR Act, and if not, whether their actions constituted an unlawful entry under section 768(1) of the Act.

The court considered the requirements of section 760 of the WR Act, which allows officials to enter premises to speak with employees if certain conditions are met, including whether the work is covered by an award or collective agreement. The court found that the unions' officials did not satisfy the conditions of section 760 as they did not establish a legitimate basis for entry. Moreover, the court determined that the officials' insistence on entering the site, despite being informed they had no right to do so, amounted to an unlawful entry under section 768(1) of the WR Act.

The court ordered penalties against the unions for the unlawful entries, with specific amounts allocated for each contravention of sections 767(1) and 768(1) of the WR Act. The unions were also directed to pay the pecuniary penalties to John Holland as per section 841 of the WR Act. No order was made regarding the costs of the proceeding.