Wipro Limited v State of New South Wales

In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Wipro Limited (the plaintiff) sought a declaration concerning its obligations to Deepak Rawat (an employee) regarding long service leave entitlements under the *Long Service Leave Act 1955* (NSW). The central dispute revolved around whether Mr. Rawat's period of service in India with the plaintiff should be counted as part of his "continuous service" for the purposes of calculating his long service leave entitlements under the Act.

The Court was required to determine the territorial reach of the *Long Service Leave Act 1955* (NSW) and, specifically, whether it applied to service undertaken by an employee outside of New South Wales. This involved considering how to interpret a statute that does not expressly define its territorial scope, and whether the "hinge" or "central conception" of the Act could establish a sufficient territorial connection to include overseas service.

The Court reasoned that the "central conception" of the *Long Service Leave Act 1955* (NSW) was the accrual of entitlements based on service within New South Wales. Applying this principle, the Court concluded that service performed by Mr. Rawat in India did not constitute "continuous service" for the purposes of the Act. Consequently, the plaintiff was not obliged to pay Mr. Rawat a long service leave entitlement pursuant to section 4(5) of the Act. The Court ordered that the plaintiff was not obliged to pay Deepak Rawat a long service leave entitlement and ordered the first defendant to pay the plaintiff’s costs.