Re State Public Services Federation; Ex parte The Attorney-General for the State of Western Australia

The proceedings involved the Attorney-General for the State of Western Australia seeking prerogative relief against the State Public Services Federation. The core of the dispute concerned the scope of an order nisi, specifically whether it should name all members of the Industrial Commission or only Deputy President MacBean, who was seized of the matter. The High Court of Australia was considering the terms of the draft order nisi.

The legal issues before the Court were whether the draft order nisi was too wide in its scope by including all members of the Industrial Commission, and whether the relief sought sufficiently addressed the earlier decision of Deputy President MacBean as opposed to interim decisions. The Court also considered the implications of not seeking a stay and the appropriate respondents for writs of prohibition, certiorari, and mandamus.

The Court reasoned that the relief sought, particularly the writ of prohibition, should be directed specifically at Deputy President MacBean, as he was the member of the commission initially seized of the matter. While acknowledging that duties might be laid generally on commission members, the Court found it unnecessary and potentially extravagant to include all other members in the order nisi, especially in the absence of a stay application. The Court indicated a willingness to grant an order nisi in terms that deleted the reference to "and all other members for the time being of the industrial commission" and substituted "Deputy President MacBean" as the first respondent.

An order nisi was to issue in the amended terms, with consequential changes to be made to the body of the order to reflect the narrowed scope. The return date was nominated as 7 December 1993.