Stephens v Australian Postal Corporation

Stephens (the applicant) brought proceedings against the Australian Postal Corporation (the respondent) in the Federal Court of Australia. The applicant sought to set aside an arbitration award made under the *Industrial Relations Act 1988* (Cth) on the grounds of apprehended bias.

The primary legal issue before Emmett J was whether the arbitrator, in conducting the arbitration and making the award, had demonstrated a state of apprehended bias that would render the award invalid. This involved an examination of the arbitrator's conduct and statements during the arbitration process to determine if a reasonable apprehension of bias could be formed by a fair-minded lay observer.

Emmett J considered the principles governing apprehended bias, particularly in the context of arbitration. His Honour found that the applicant had failed to establish that a reasonable apprehension of bias existed. The evidence did not support the claim that the arbitrator had acted in a manner that would lead a fair-minded observer to conclude that the arbitrator was not impartial. Consequently, the application to set aside the arbitration award was dismissed.