Secretary of the Treasury v Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales

The Secretary of the Treasury sought judicial review of a decision made by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales. The Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales were the respondents. The core of the dispute concerned an interlocutory application for a stay of the Commission's decision pending the determination of the judicial review proceedings, which alleged jurisdictional error.

The Court was required to consider whether to grant a stay of the Industrial Relations Commission's orders. This involved assessing the relevant considerations for such an application, particularly in the context of an industrial dispute. Key factors included the nature of the dispute, the potential prejudice to the parties and employees who were entitled to the benefits of the award, and the practical difficulties associated with recovering payments once they had been made. The Court also had regard to the applicant's conduct in delaying the commencement of the review proceedings.

Basten JA granted the stay, ordering that the orders made by Boland J on 20 December 2013 in the matter of Re Crown Employees Wages Staff (Rates of Pay) Award 2011 (No 3) [2013] NSWIRComm 109 be stayed pending the determination of the proceedings in the Court. The costs of the motion were ordered to be the respondents' costs in the proceedings.