R v Blakeley; Ex parte Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia

The case of *R v Blakeley; Ex parte Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia* involved an application to the High Court of Australia for a writ of mandamus. The applicant, the Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia (the Association), sought to compel a Conciliation Commissioner, Mr. Blakeley, to hear and determine alleged industrial disputes. The Commissioner had dismissed the applications on the grounds that no "real and genuine" industrial disputes existed.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Conciliation Commissioner had the jurisdiction to finally and conclusively determine the existence of an industrial dispute, or whether the High Court, in exercising its supervisory jurisdiction, was required to independently assess the existence of such a dispute. A further issue was whether the actions of the New South Wales branch of the Association, in limiting the service of a log of demands and subsequently resolving not to serve it generally in that state, extinguished the existence of an inter-state industrial dispute.

The High Court, by a majority, held that a Conciliation Commissioner does not have exclusive jurisdiction to determine the existence of an industrial dispute. The Court found that when an application for a prerogative writ is made, it is incumbent upon the High Court to determine for itself, giving due weight to the Commissioner's decision, whether a dispute in fact exists. The Court reasoned that the existence of a dispute cannot be contingent on the degree of dissatisfaction or discontent, and that the actions of a single state branch, particularly when the federal body's desire for uniformity was stated, did not necessarily terminate an inter-state dispute. The Court concluded that the Commissioner had erred in finding that no real and genuine disputes existed and had wrongly declined to exercise his jurisdiction.

Consequently, the High Court made absolute the order nisi for a writ of mandamus, directing the Conciliation Commissioner to hear and determine the alleged industrial disputes. The majority found that the Commissioner's decision was based on a misapprehension of his powers and the nature of an industrial dispute under the relevant legislation.