Re Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance; Ex parte The Hoyts Corporation Pty Limited

The applicant, The Hoyts Corporation Pty Limited, sought writs of prohibition and mandamus directed to members of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. The dispute concerned clause 31 of a proposed award, which Hoyts argued was beyond the Commission's power to make. Hoyts contended that the clause, by prohibiting any change to an employee's conditions of employment, including termination, without prior leave of the Commission, conferred an unfettered and therefore invalid discretion upon the Commission.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the Commission had the constitutional and statutory power to include clause 31 in the award. Specifically, the Court was asked to determine if the clause, by requiring the Commission's leave for any alteration to employment conditions, including termination, and in the absence of prescribed criteria for granting such leave, vested an unrestricted power in the Commission. This, Hoyts argued, would render the clause invalid and beyond the scope of the Commission's authority under section 51(xxxv) of the Constitution and the relevant legislation.

The Court considered the principles established in case law, particularly *Reg v Portus; ex parte City of Perth* (1973) 129 CLR 312. The reasoning focused on whether the proposed clause granted the Commission an arbitrary or unfettered discretion. Hoyts argued that the clause effectively gave the Commission an unrestricted power to accept or reject any proposed change to employment conditions, which was not a power that could be validly incorporated into an award. The Court was to assess if this type of requirement was consistent with the established limits of the Commission's jurisdiction.