Treasurer for the State of South Australia v United Trades and Labour Council (Trading as SA Unions) (No 2)

The Treasurer for the State of South Australia (the Treasurer) sought to recover from the United Trades and Labour Council (trading as SA Unions) (SA Unions) certain costs incurred by the Treasurer in proceedings before the Industrial Relations Court of South Australia. SA Unions had been successful in those proceedings. The dispute concerned whether SA Unions should be deprived of its costs, despite being the successful party. The matter came before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether there were grounds to deprive SA Unions of its costs in the original proceedings. This required the Court to consider the nature of the proceedings before the Industrial Relations Court and whether any conduct by SA Unions warranted such a deprivation, notwithstanding its success.

The Full Court reasoned that the original proceedings involved a reference by the Treasurer to the Industrial Relations Court concerning the interpretation of certain provisions of the *Industrial Relations Act 1994* (SA). The Court found that SA Unions had acted reasonably and appropriately in the conduct of those proceedings. There was no evidence of vexatious, frivolous, or improper conduct on the part of SA Unions that would justify departing from the general rule that a successful party should recover its costs. The Court applied the principle that costs follow the event unless there are specific circumstances justifying a different order.

The Full Court ordered that SA Unions should recover its costs of the appeal from the Treasurer.