Vanden Driesden v Edith Cowan University

In the case of Vanden Driesden v Edith Cowan University, the applicant sought to bring an action under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) against the university for various claims related to alleged unfair dismissal and other general protections. The university challenged the applicant's right to bring the claim, asserting that the claims were not within the scope of the certificate issued by Fair Work Australia, nor within the limitation period.

The legal issues before the court included whether the necessary degree of conformity existed between the certificate issued under section 369 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the dispute in the application to Fair Work Australia under section 365, and whether the appropriate limitation period for the action was 6 years or 14 days. The court had to determine whether the applicant's claims, based on alleged complaints not included in the initial application to Fair Work Australia, were within the court's jurisdiction.

The court found that the necessary degree of conformity between the certificate and the dispute did not exist, as the applicant had included claims that were not mentioned in the initial application to Fair Work Australia. Furthermore, the court held that the 6-year limitation period applied, rather than the 14-day period, as the applicant's claims were based on a series of events over time. Consequently, the court ruled that the claims were not within its jurisdiction.

The court ordered that certain paragraphs of the applicant's form be struck out, dismissed the respondent's application, and reserved the costs of the application to the next directions hearing. The matter was adjourned to a directions hearing at a later date.