NUW v ACCO Australia Pty Ltd

The case of NUW v ACCO Australia Pty Ltd involved the National Union of Workers (NUW) and ACCO Australia Pty Ltd, a company, before the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred around the union's protected action ballot order, which the company argued was unlawful. ACCO contended that the union's ballot order was invalid as it involved "hard bargaining" with an impasse still genuinely trying, and the ballot was a multi-option single question, lacking direction to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on the voting method and an information note for the ballot paper.

The key legal issue before the court was whether the union's protected action ballot order was lawful. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the union's conduct constituted "hard bargaining" and whether the ballot order was compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The court also needed to assess whether the lack of direction to the AEC on the voting method and the absence of an information note for the ballot paper rendered the ballot order invalid.

The Fair Work Commission found that the union's conduct did not amount to "hard bargaining" with an impasse still genuinely trying, as the union had genuinely attempted to negotiate with the employer. The court also held that the multi-option single question in the ballot order was not inherently problematic, provided the ballot process was otherwise compliant with the Act. However, the Commission ruled that the absence of direction to the AEC on the voting method and the lack of an information note for the ballot paper were significant deficiencies. The court concluded that these omissions rendered the ballot order invalid, as they did not provide members with the necessary information to make an informed decision.

As a result, the Fair Work Commission set aside the union's protected action ballot order. The court did not provide specific orders beyond this decision, leaving it to the union to address the deficiencies identified and potentially issue a new ballot order that complied with the Act.