Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association v Australian Nursing Federation

The Victorian Hospitals' Industrial Association brought proceedings against the Australian Nursing Federation in the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute arose from industrial action taken by the Federation, which the Association claimed was unprotected, in the context of negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement. The Association sought an injunction to restrain the Federation from organising or continuing to organise industrial action in respect of work usually performed by its members at the premises of any of the Association’s employees, and for the Federation to take steps to inform its members of the Federal Court's orders. The legal issues before the Court were whether the industrial action was protected and, if not, whether an injunction should issue to restrain the Federation from organising or continuing to organise the industrial action. The Court found that the industrial action was unprotected and, as such, an injunction should issue to restrain the Federation from organising or continuing to organise the industrial action. The Court noted that the Federation had not made a protected action ballot of its members, and that the industrial action had not been authorised by a relevant industrial instrument. The Court also noted that the Federation had not established that the industrial action was protected under any other provision of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The Court made orders pursuant to the Federal Court Rules 2011 restraining the Federation from organising or continuing to organise industrial action in respect of work usually performed by its members at the premises of any of the Association’s employees, and requiring the Federation to take steps to inform its members of the Federal Court's orders.