GLEESON CJ, GAUDRON, McHUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE AND CALLINAN JJ
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED APPELLANT
AND
WORTHING & ANOR RESPONDENTS
Telstra Corporation Limited v Worthing (S68-1998) [1999] HCA 12 24 March 1999
ORDER
Appeal allowed.
Order 3 of the orders of the Court of Appeal entered on 31 March 1998 be set aside and in lieu thereof order that the appeal to that Court be allowed, Order 1 made by Truss CCJ on 10 July 1997 be set aside, and the application for determination dated 10 September 1996 be struck out for want of jurisdiction.
The appellant pay the first respondent's costs of the appeal to this Court.
On appeal from the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Representation:
A Robertson SC with G M Watson for the appellant (instructed by Sparke Helmore)
A J Leslie QC with J H Pearce for the first respondent (instructed by Gray & Ryan)
No appearance for the second respondent
2.
Interveners:
D M J Bennett QC, Solicitor-General for the Commonwealth with E Willheim and D A Page intervening on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Commonwealth (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)
M G Sexton SC, Solicitor-General for the State of New South Wales with S J Gageler intervening on behalf of the Attorney-General of the State of New South Wales (instructed by Crown Solicitor for New South Wales)
B W Walker SC with G M Watson intervening on behalf of the Australian Postal Corporation (instructed by Sparke Helmore)
Notice: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA
GLEESON CJ, GAUDRON, McHUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE AND CALLINAN JJ
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH APPELLANT
AND
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED & ANOR RESPONDENTS
Attorney-General v Telstra Corporation Limited 24 March 1999 S69/1998
ORDER
Appeal allowed.
Order 3 of the orders of the Court of Appeal entered on 31 March 1998 be set aside and in lieu thereof order that the appeal to that Court be allowed, Order 1 made by Truss CCJ on 10 July 1997 be set aside, and the application for determination dated 10 September 1996 be struck out for want of jurisdiction.
The appellant pay the second respondent's costs of the appeal to this Court.
On appeal from the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Representation:
D M J Bennett QC, Solicitor-General for the Commonwealth with E Willheim and D A Page for the appellant (instructed by Australian Government Solicitor)
A Robertson SC with G M Watson for the first respondent (instructed by Sparke Helmore)
2.
A J Leslie QC with J H Pearce for the second respondent (instructed by Gray & Ryan)
Interveners:
M G Sexton SC, Solicitor-General for the State of New South Wales with S J Gageler intervening on behalf of the Attorney-General of the State of New South Wales (instructed by Crown Solicitor for New South Wales)
B W Walker SC with G M Watson intervening on behalf of the…
Grounds of appeal
[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.
[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.
[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.
Consideration
[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.
[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.
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AGLC
Telstra Corporation Ltd v Worthing [1999] HCA 12
Case
[1999] HCA 12
Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
In *Telstra Corporation Limited v Worthing*, the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the application of New South Wales workers' compensation legislation to Telstra. The core of the disagreement revolved around whether the federal *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) was inconsistent with the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) in its application to Telstra, and whether the Compensation Court of New South Wales had jurisdiction to hear the matter, given its potential to involve the interpretation of the Constitution and the exercise of federal jurisdiction.
The legal issues before the High Court were primarily twofold: first, whether the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) evinced a legislative intention to exclusively occupy the field of workers' compensation for federal instrumentalities like Telstra, thereby rendering the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) inoperative in relation to Telstra due to inconsistency under section 109 of the Constitution; and second, whether the Compensation Court of New South Wales possessed the necessary jurisdiction to determine a matter that might involve the interpretation of the Constitution and the exercise of federal jurisdiction.
The High Court reasoned that the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) was intended to be a comprehensive code for the compensation of federal employees, including those of Telstra. Consequently, any state legislation that purported to apply to Telstra in this area would be inconsistent with the federal Act and therefore invalid by operation of section 109 of the Constitution. The Court further held that the Compensation Court of New South Wales lacked the jurisdiction to determine a matter that involved the interpretation of the Constitution and the exercise of federal jurisdiction, as this fell outside its statutory remit.
The High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of the Court of Appeal and ordering that the application for determination be struck out for want of jurisdiction. Telstra was ordered to pay Mr Worthing's costs of the appeal to the High Court.
Orders
Orders of the court
1.
Appeal allowed.
2.
Order 3 of the orders of the Court of Appeal entered on 31 March 1998 be set aside and in lieu thereof order that the appeal to that Court be allowed, Order 1 made by Truss CCJ on 10 July 1997 be set aside, and the application for determination dated 10 September 1996 be struck out for want of jurisdiction.
3.
The appellant pay the first respondent's costs of the appeal to this Court.
Background
Background to the litigation
Full text does not contain this section.
Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
Full text does not contain this section.
Decision
Reasons for decision
HUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE AND CALLINAN JJ
Union Steamship does not indicate any different conclusion on the question of inconsistency to that which we have reached earlier in these reasons.Conclusions No application was made for the consolidation of the appeals. If they had been consolidated, there would have been a need for only one set of orders. As matters stand, the appropriate course, in each appeal, is to order that the appeal be allowed and Order 3 of the orders of the Court of Appeal entered on 31 March 1998 be set aside. In place of Order 3, it should be ordered that the appeal to the Court of Appeal be allowed, Order 1 made by Truss CCJ on 10 July 1997 be set aside and the application for determination dated 10 September 1996 be struck out for want of jurisdiction. It was a condition of the grant of special leave in the Telstra appeal that there be no disturbance of the costs orders made in the courts below and that Telstra would pay Mr Worthing's costs of its appeal to this Court in any event. It was a condition of the grant of special leave to the Attorney‑General of the Commonwealth that there be no disturbance of the costs orders made in the courts below and that the Attorney-General pay the costs of Mr Worthing of the appeal to this Court in any event. It should be so ordered.
Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
Established by:
HUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE AND CALLINAN JJ