Kweifio-Okai v Australian College of Natural Medicine (No 2)

The applicant, Kweifio-Okai, sought judicial review of the respondent’s decision not to renew his employment contract and to suspend his employment. The applicant alleged that the respondent breached workplace laws by taking adverse action against him because he exercised a workplace right by making a complaint in relation to his employment. The respondent argued that the applicant’s employment was terminated for genuine reasons not connected to the exercise of his workplace right. The matter was heard by the Federal Court.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the respondent contravened the standards prescribed under the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 by taking adverse action against the applicant. The court had to determine whether the applicant’s employment was suspended and not renewed because he exercised a workplace right by making a complaint in relation to his employment. The court also had to consider whether the respondent complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court found that the applicant did not establish that the adverse action taken against him was because he exercised a workplace right. The court held that the respondent had genuine reasons for not renewing the applicant’s employment contract and that the applicant failed to discharge the onus of proving that the reason for the termination was because he exercised a workplace right. The court further found that the respondent complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. Accordingly, the court dismissed the application.

The court dismissed the application and ordered that if the respondent wished to pursue an application for costs, it should file and serve short written submissions on or before 5 November 2014. Entry of orders was dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.