Qantas Airways Ltd v Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (No 2)

The case before the court was between Qantas Airways Ltd and the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (No 2). The dispute involved the interpretation and application of the industrial dispute resolution procedures outlined in the Qantas and Jetstar agreements, as well as the jurisdiction of the Fair Work Commission. The case centred on whether the parties had complied with the staged dispute resolution procedures and whether substantial compliance was sufficient.

The court had to determine whether compliance with each stage of the dispute resolution process was mandatory or if substantial compliance was sufficient. It also had to consider the jurisdiction of the Fair Work Commission to deal with the referral and the principles of construction of enterprise agreements. The court had to examine the nature of the dispute and whether it fell within the scope of the dispute resolution clauses in the agreements.

The court found that the discussions between the parties constituted a dispute for the purposes of the agreements. The division of opinion between the airline and the Engineers Association as to whether LAMEs could be usefully employed was sufficient to conclude that the matter could not be resolved on the hangar floor and needed to be referred to the Commission. The court held that not all divisions of opinion between an employer and its employees need to constitute an industrial dispute, nor do they need to fall within a dispute resolution clause in an enterprise agreement. However, a division of opinion may constitute a dispute even though it may not attract any degree of formality of expression.

The court concluded that the Form 10 Applications were not within the jurisdiction of the Fair Work Commission, as there was no estoppel that could arguably confer jurisdiction on the Commission. The court also held that the principles of construction of enterprise agreements should be applied in a way that gives effect to the intention of the parties and the context in which the agreement was made.

The court ordered that the parties were to bring in Short Minutes of Orders to give effect to these reasons within seven days. The entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.