Reh v State of Queensland (Department of Education)

Reh, a cleaner employed by the State of Queensland's Department of Education at Gin Gin State School and Gin Gin State High School, brought an appeal against a disciplinary action decision. The Director-General had issued Employment Direction 1/21 in December 2021 and Employment Direction 1/22 in March 2022, both requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by specified dates. Reh refused to be vaccinated and was suspended without remuneration from 27 January 2022 until 30 June 2022. Following a show cause process, the Director-General imposed a reduction in remuneration and a reprimand on Reh. Reh appealed against the disciplinary action decision, although the appeal was lodged 11 days out of the prescribed time. Additionally, Reh made other applications arising from the same facts, including an application to stop bullying, a general application seeking various forms of relief, and an application to recover unpaid wages.

The court was required to determine whether the disciplinary action decision was fair and reasonable, and to assess the validity of the other applications. The court had to consider the timeliness of the appeal, the grounds for the disciplinary action, and whether the other applications were misconceived. The court also needed to examine the evidence presented by both parties and the relevant employment legislation.

The court confirmed that the disciplinary action decision was fair and reasonable. The court found that the Employment Directions were lawful and the Director-General's decision to suspend Reh was justified. The court held that the reduction in remuneration and reprimand were appropriate given Reh's refusal to comply with the Directions and her subsequent suspension. The court dismissed the other applications, finding them to be misconceived. The court held that the applications to stop bullying, for various orders, and to recover unpaid wages did not have merit and were not supported by the evidence.

The court made the following orders: the disciplinary action decision was confirmed, the application to stop bullying was dismissed, the general application for various orders was dismissed, and the application to recover unpaid wages was dismissed. These orders were consistent with the court's findings that the disciplinary action was fair and reasonable, and the other applications were misconceived.