Mayger v Community Accommodation and Respite Inc T/A Cara

Mayger (the applicant) brought proceedings against Community Accommodation and Respite Inc trading as Cara (the respondent) in the Industrial Relations Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned allegations of unfair dismissal. The applicant sought to be represented by a McKenzie friend, a non-legally qualified person, who was not a party to the proceedings. The respondent sought further and better particulars of the applicant's pleadings and also applied to strike out the applicant's statement of claim.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it possessed an inherent jurisdiction to permit a non-party lay person to represent a party in proceedings before it, particularly in circumstances where the party was unable to obtain legal representation. A secondary issue concerned the respondent's application for further and better particulars and its application to strike out the applicant's statement of claim.

Judge Heffernan considered the scope of the Court's jurisdiction, noting that while the *Industrial Relations Act 1994* (SA) provided for representation by legal practitioners, it did not expressly grant a right to representation by a McKenzie friend. His Honour reviewed authorities concerning the inherent jurisdiction of courts to manage their own proceedings and ensure fairness, particularly in the context of access to justice. The Court determined that it did not possess an inherent jurisdiction to permit a non-party to represent another party, as this would usurp the statutory framework governing representation. However, the Court acknowledged a limited discretion to allow a McKenzie friend to provide assistance, such as taking notes or offering advice, but not to conduct the case. Regarding the pleadings, the Court found that the statement of claim lacked sufficient particularity to enable the respondent to adequately respond and therefore ordered that the applicant provide further and better particulars.

The Court ordered that the applicant provide further and better particulars of the statement of claim within 21 days. The application to strike out the statement of claim was adjourned pending the provision of those particulars. The applicant's request for representation by a non-party McKenzie friend was refused.