White v Westfield Vet Hospital

James White (the applicant) commenced proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia against Westfield Vet Hospital Pty Ltd (the first respondent) and three individuals (the second, third, and fourth respondents). The applicant alleged that the first respondent terminated his employment in contravention of section 340 of the *Fair Work Act 2009* (Cth), and that the individual respondents were involved in this contravention, rendering them liable under section 550 of the same Act. The respondents subsequently applied for an order, pursuant to rule 17 of the *Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001* (Cth), for a preliminary hearing on the separate question of whether the applicant was dismissed from employment.

The court was required to determine whether it should, prior to the substantive hearing, conduct a preliminary inquiry into the question of whether the applicant was dismissed. This involved considering the principles governing applications for preliminary hearings on separate questions, as outlined in cases such as *Devonshire v Magellan Powertronics Pty Ltd & Ors*. The court noted that the relevant rules allow for the decision of a question separately from another question at any time in a proceeding, provided the question is clearly set out.

Judge Kendall found that the court ought to adopt the approach of the Federal Court in relation to similar rules when considering applications under rule 17.02 of the *Federal Circuit Court Rules*. The court was not satisfied that determining the proposed separate question was appropriate in this instance. Consequently, the respondents' application for a preliminary hearing was dismissed. The matter was then adjourned for further directions.