John Holland Pty Ltd v Victorian Workcover Authority

John Holland Pty Ltd sought judicial review of a decision by the Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) to issue a prohibition notice under section 107 of the *Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004* (Vic). The prohibition notice directed John Holland to cease all work at a particular construction site due to alleged risks to workers' safety. John Holland contended that the VWA had acted *ultra vires* its powers in issuing the notice, arguing that the VWA had failed to properly consider the relevant statutory criteria before doing so.

The central legal issue before the High Court of Australia was whether the VWA had lawfully exercised its power to issue a prohibition notice. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether the VWA had properly applied the threshold for issuing such a notice, which requires the existence of a risk to health or safety that is not adequately controlled. The Court also considered whether the VWA had adequately considered the information provided by John Holland regarding the safety measures in place at the site.

In his judgment, Hayne J found that the VWA had not properly exercised its power. His Honour held that the VWA's decision to issue the prohibition notice was based on an erroneous understanding of the evidence before it and a failure to properly assess whether the risks identified were adequately controlled by the measures John Holland had implemented. The legal principle applied was that statutory powers must be exercised within the confines of the legislation granting them, and that decision-makers must undertake a proper and rational assessment of the facts and relevant criteria before exercising such powers.

Consequently, Hayne J ordered that the prohibition notice issued by the VWA be quashed.