National Tertiary Education Industry Union v University of Newcastle

The National Tertiary Education Industry Union sought a determination from the Fair Work Commission that a dispute be dealt with in accordance with a dispute settlement procedure in an enterprise agreement. The respondent, the University of Newcastle, contested the Commission's jurisdiction on the basis that the dispute was in fact an unfair dismissal matter. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The court had to decide whether the Commission had jurisdiction to hear the dispute under section 308 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), or whether the dispute was an unfair dismissal matter to be dealt with under section 394 of the Fair Work Act. The central issue was whether the dispute was about the application or interpretation of an enterprise agreement or if it related to an alleged unfair dismissal. The court considered the nature of the dispute and the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

The court found that the dispute was indeed about the application or interpretation of the enterprise agreement, and therefore, the Commission had jurisdiction to deal with the dispute. The court held that the dispute was not about unfair dismissal, but rather about the application of the dispute settlement procedure outlined in the enterprise agreement. The court concluded that the Commission was the appropriate body to resolve the dispute in accordance with the enterprise agreement.

The court dismissed the University of Newcastle's application for review and ordered that the dispute be dealt with by the Fair Work Commission in accordance with the enterprise agreement. The court further noted that the dispute was not an unfair dismissal matter and therefore, the Commission had the jurisdiction to resolve the dispute. The orders of the court were that the application be dismissed with costs.