Sydney Ferries v Morton

Sydney Ferries Pty Limited (Sydney Ferries) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning the dismissal of Mr Morton. The dispute centred on whether Sydney Ferries had afforded Mr Morton procedural fairness when it terminated his employment.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether clause 32 of the *Transport Administration (Staff) Regulation 2000* (NSW) imposed a duty on Sydney Ferries to give notice of the grounds for Mr Morton's dismissal. Further, the Court considered whether there was an obligation on the decision-maker to provide reasons for the dismissal, and if so, the content of that obligation. The Court also addressed the applicability of estoppel in the context of judicial review proceedings and the principles of *Wednesbury* unreasonableness in relation to discretionary decision-making.

The Court of Appeal held that clause 32 of the *Transport Administration (Staff) Regulation 2000* (NSW) did not impose a duty to give notice of the grounds for dismissal. It was also determined that there is no general legal assumption that an administrative decision-maker is obliged to give reasons for their decision; the content of such an obligation is dependent on the nature of the power exercised and the circumstances. The Court clarified that findings of fact made in judicial review proceedings do not have the effect of creating an estoppel, and that the Court exercising powers of judicial review is not empowered to make findings of fact on the merits of a claim. The principles of *Wednesbury* unreasonableness were found to be applicable to discretionary decision-making, and findings of fact open to a tribunal were not to be disturbed on the grounds of unreasonableness.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.