Transport Workers' Union of Australia v Torrens Transit Services Pty Ltd

The Transport Workers' Union of Australia sought to have a dispute dealt with by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute was against Torrens Transit Services Pty Ltd, concerning the operation of an enterprise agreement. The union claimed that the employer breached the agreement by imposing certain changes without proper negotiation. The AIRC initially dismissed the union's application on jurisdictional grounds, finding that the union had not complied with the dispute resolution procedure outlined in the agreement.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the dispute resolution procedure applied to the union's claims and if the union had substantively complied with this procedure. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the union's failure to comply with the procedure meant the AIRC lacked jurisdiction to hear the dispute. The union argued that the procedure was inapplicable to its claims, while the employer maintained that compliance was mandatory for the AIRC to exercise its jurisdiction.

The court found that the dispute resolution procedure was applicable to the union's claims and that the union had not substantively complied with it. The court held that the power to make an application to the AIRC derives from the enterprise agreement's dispute resolution procedure. Therefore, compliance with this procedure was necessary for the AIRC to establish jurisdiction. Given the union's failure to comply with the procedure, the court upheld the AIRC's decision to dismiss the application on jurisdictional grounds. The union's appeal was accordingly dismissed.