Qantas Airways Limited v Flight Attendants' Association of Australia

The appeal before the court involved Qantas Airways Limited and the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia. The dispute centred around the interpretation of the Commonwealth JobKeeper Scheme and specifically the phrase "the amounts payable to the employee in relation to the performance of work during the fortnight". The matter was heard in the Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia.

The legal issues that the court had to determine involved the interpretation of the statutory phrase in question. The court needed to consider the meaning of "the amounts payable to the employee in relation to the performance of work during the fortnight" within the context of the JobKeeper Scheme. This required the court to examine the text, context, and purpose of the legislation, as well as any relevant extrinsic material. The primary focus was on whether the phrase included amounts payable for work performed outside of the fortnight in question.

The court allowed the appeal and dismissed the cross-appeal. It held that the phrase in question did not include amounts payable for work performed outside of the fortnight. The court found that the note to the section in question, along with the text, context, and purpose of the legislation, supported this interpretation. The court concluded that the declaration made on 13 October 2020 was incorrect and set it aside. The parties were directed to provide a proposed form of order to give effect to the court's reasons within 14 days.