State of Victoria v Australian Education Union

The State of Victoria commenced proceedings against the Australian Education Union and the Community and Public Sector Union, seeking interlocutory injunctions to restrain the unions from organising industrial action in support of new enterprise agreements. The unions had made claims for new agreements in relation to teachers, principals, and education support class employees, and had organised industrial action following the approval of protected action ballot orders by the Fair Work Commission. The State of Victoria argued that some of the claims made by the unions fell within exclusions in the Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2009 (Vic) and, therefore, the industrial action would not be protected by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The court considered whether the applicant had established a prima facie case for interlocutory relief and whether the balance of convenience favoured the granting of such relief. The court found that the applicant had not established a prima facie case for interlocutory relief as it had not demonstrated that the industrial action would be unlawful. Additionally, the court found that the applicant's delay in bringing the proceeding and its failure to address the potential exclusions in a timely manner were sufficient to preclude it from obtaining the interlocutory relief sought. The court ultimately refused the interlocutory relief sought by the State of Victoria.