Old UGC Inc v Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales

This case concerned an appeal to the High Court of Australia from the New South Wales Court of Appeal. The appeal arose from an application made by Mr Robert McRann to the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales (the Commission) under section 106 of the *Industrial Relations Act 1996* (NSW). Mr McRann sought to have a Compensation and Release Agreement (the C & R Agreement), which he had entered into with Old UGC Inc and related entities, declared void or varied on the grounds that it was unfair, harsh, and unconscionable. The C & R Agreement was made upon the termination of Mr McRann's employment and was governed by the laws of the State of Colorado.

The High Court was required to determine three principal legal issues. Firstly, whether the Commission's jurisdiction under section 106, which applies to "contracts whereby a person performs work in any industry," extended to contracts whose proper law was not New South Wales. Secondly, whether the High Court should intervene by way of a writ of prohibition to prevent the Commission from hearing the matter, given that the Court of Appeal had declined to do so and considering the privative provisions of section 179 of the Act and general principles regarding supervisory orders. Thirdly, if the Court was to consider the merits of the jurisdictional challenge, whether there was any arguable basis for the claim that the C & R Agreement fell within the Commission's jurisdiction under section 106.

The Court held that the Commission's jurisdiction under section 106 was not excluded by the fact that the C & R Agreement was governed by Colorado law. The Court reasoned that a purposive construction of the remedial provisions of section 106, consistent with legislative intent and established judicial resistance to devices designed to evade such legislation, meant that the provision should not be read as inapplicable to contracts with a foreign proper law. To hold otherwise would permit easy evasion of the statutory protections. The Court also found that the application for prohibition was premature, as the Commission had not yet made a final determination on jurisdiction.

The appeal was allowed, and the orders of the New South Wales Court of Appeal were set aside. The High Court ordered that the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales be prohibited from hearing or determining the proceeding under section 106 of the *Industrial Relations Act 1996* (NSW) in relation to Mr McRann's claim against Old UGC Inc and others. The Court also ordered that Mr McRann pay the appellants' costs of the appeal.