Mr Peter Latham v Glengollan Village

[2025] FWC 657

[2025] FWC 657

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.394 - Application for unfair dismissal remedy

Mr Peter Latham
v

Glengollan Village

(U2025/736)

COMMISSIONER TRAN MELBOURNE, 5 MARCH 2025

Dismissal under s. 399A – Failure to comply with directions – Failure to attend conferences

1. These are the written reasons for the decision delivered ex-tempore on 4 March 2025.

1. The Commission may dismiss a matter under section 399A of the Fair Work Act 2009(Cth), on application by a respondent, where an applicant has failed to attend conferences or comply with directions.

1. Glengollan Village made such an application on 27 February 2025 in an email to the Commission. The email copied in Mr Latham.

1. I am satisfied that Mr Latham has failed to comply with directions and failed to attend a conference of the Commission. Mr Latham has failed to comply with directions that I issued on 11 February 2025, in that he did not file his materials by the deadline in those directions. Mr Latham has also failed to attend a case management conference before me today, Tuesday 4 March 2025.

1. My chambers sent an email on 27 February 2025 to Mr Latham that said that he needed to urgently comply with directions and that he needed to provide reasons for his failure to comply. We also informed him in that email that I would deal with the respondent’s application to dismiss this matter at the case management conference.

1. We today tried to telephone Mr Latham after the scheduled start time of this conference. He has not responded. We also informed him by email today that the matter would proceed in his absence.

1. Mr Latham has not engaged. He has not responded to any of our correspondence. And so, he has not provided any reasons for his failure to comply or failure to attend.

1. I am therefore satisfied that he has unreasonably failed to attend a conference and unreasonably failed to comply with a direction of the Commission.

1. As such, I have the discretion to dismiss his application, and I consider it appropriate to do so under section 399A of the Act.

Order

1. I order that the application for an unfair dismissal remedy under matter number U2025/736 filed by Mr Peter Latham on 22 January 2025 be dismissed under section 399A of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

Appearances:

Ms J. Fraumano for the Respondent

Hearing details:

Melbourne
4 March 2025
Via Microsoft Teams

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