Sparke v Hay

Sparke (the applicant) sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned whether undetermined proceedings in the IRC were to be deemed proceedings in the Supreme Court, following a legislative amendment. The applicant contended that a hearing on a jurisdictional question before an improperly constituted Commission meant the proceedings had been "heard or partly heard" within the meaning of the relevant transitional provisions.

The primary legal issue before the Supreme Court was the interpretation of the phrase "heard or partly heard" in the context of the transitional provisions governing the transfer of proceedings from the IRC to the Supreme Court. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether a hearing on a preliminary or jurisdictional matter, conducted by a body that was later found to be improperly constituted, could satisfy the condition of the proceedings having been "partly heard" for the purposes of the legislative deeming provision.

The Court reasoned that the phrase "heard or partly heard" referred to proceedings that had reached a substantive stage of adjudication on their merits, or at least a significant procedural step towards that end. A hearing on a jurisdictional objection, particularly one before an improperly constituted tribunal, did not amount to the proceedings being "heard or partly heard" in the sense contemplated by the legislation. Consequently, the Court found no basis for granting leave to appeal, as the proceedings in the IRC did not fall within the scope of the transitional provisions that would deem them to be proceedings in the Supreme Court.

The proceedings were dismissed, with no order as to costs.