Couriers Please Pty Ltd v Braunack & Ors [2001] ICQ 2 (2001) 166 QGIG 141

2 February, 2001 QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL GAZETTE 141 INDUSTRIAL COURT OF QUEENSLAND Industrial Relations Act 1999 – s. 341(1) – appeal against decision of industrial commission Couriers Please Pty Ltd AND Graham Braunack and Others (No. C63 of 2000) PRESIDENT HALL 23 January 2001 DECISION This is an appeal against the decision of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission rejecting an application summarily to dismiss an application pursuant to s. 276 of the Industrial Relations Act 1999 on the ground that the application was brought by a partnership. The decision of the Commission has been published at 165 QGIG 225. I have read the decision. I agree with the Commission’s conclusions and with its reasons. There is no utility and more than a little churlishness in republishing the same reasons in different words or in a shortened form. I am content to adopt the reasons of the Commission. In deference to Counsel for the appellant who has argued a difficult case with some skill, I venture some brief comments about arguments which were either not advanced before the Commission or alternatively were put to the Court in a different way. It may be accepted that ss. 5(1)(e) and 6(2)(b) and (c) established that the members of a partnership may be treated as employees of the firm only where there are four or more partners and are otherwise to be treated as employers. But s. 276 does not confer a right to seek remedy upon persons who are employees or who may become employees. The right to relief is conferred upon the parties to an unfair contract. It helps not at all to focus on contracts for services between large, well advised corporations with large pockets. An application to avoid such a contract may fail simply on the ground that the contract is not unfair. If the contract is shown to be “unfair” it would be necessary to consider whether the circumstances are such that the exercise of the discretionary power thereby triggered should be withheld. The appellant relies on extrinsic materials suggesting that s. 276 was intended to protect “dependent contractors”. It does. If the materials suggest that only “dependent contractors” were to be protected, they contradict the section. In any event, the application to the Commission was an application to dismiss the proceedings in a summary way. If the “dependency” of the respondent partnership was an issue, the application for summary dismissal was premature. In all the circumstances I dismiss the appeal. I am informed by Counsel for the respondent that the respondent does not seek costs. Dated this twenty-third day of January, 2001. D.R. HALL, President. Released: 23 January 2001 Appearances:– Mr J. Murdoch SC instructed by Livingstones Australia for the appellant. Mr M.T. Brady instructed by Reidy and Tonkin, Solicitors, for the respondent. -- 1 of 1 --