Wattie v Industrial Relations Secretary on behalf of the Secretary of the Department of Justice (No 2)

The appeal concerned the judicial review of an order made by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales, which had reinstated a correctional officer to employment in correctional centres following an unfair dismissal claim. The appellant, the employer, argued that the Commissioner had failed to take mandatory relevant considerations into account when making the reinstatement order. The primary judge had found that the Commissioner's decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Commissioner's reasons demonstrated that mandatory relevant considerations had been taken into account, and whether the primary judge had erred in finding that the Commissioner's decision was vitiated by jurisdictional error. The Court also considered whether the employer's case regarding mandatory relevant considerations had been properly advanced before the Industrial Relations Commissioner, and whether it was necessary to identify jurisdictional error in the Full Bench's decision to refuse leave to appeal before setting aside the Commissioner's reasons.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the primary judge had erred in concluding that the Commissioner's decision was affected by jurisdictional error. The Court reasoned that the Commissioner's reasons, when read as a whole, did not demonstrate a failure to take into account mandatory relevant considerations. The Court also determined that the employer's arguments regarding mandatory considerations had not been sufficiently articulated before the Commissioner to establish a jurisdictional error on that basis. Consequently, the Court set aside the judgment and orders of the primary judge and dismissed the amended summons.