CASE PROCEDURES – stay order – ss.394, 400, 604 Fair Work Act – appeal – employee was dismissed from his employment as an official of the National Union of Workers – New South Wales Branch (NUW) on the basis of admissions he had made in the Royal Commission on Trade Union Governance and Corruption concerning unauthorised use of his union credit card – employee applied to the Commission for an unfair dismissal remedy – matter currently being heard before Dean DP – in the hearing the employee has called as a witness Mr Derrick Belan, his brother and the former Secretary of the NUW – Mr Belan has or will give evidence concerning the authorisation of the credit card expenditure of the employee – Mr Belan has himself been charged with a number of criminal offences arising from his period in office as the NUW Secretary, including charges of financial misappropriation – shortly after his cross-examination by the NUW’s counsel began, and it became apparent that Mr Belan intended to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination in respect of any matter the subject of the criminal charges against him, the NUW applied for an indefinite adjournment of the proceedings pending the finalisation of the criminal charges against Mr Belan – Dean DP refused the adjournment application – appellant has now lodged an appeal against that decision – as part of appeal it has also sought on an urgent basis a stay of the decision under appeal having regard to the anticipated resumption of the proceedings before Dean DP – principles applying to stay applications in this jurisdiction are well established – Edghill v Kellow-Falkiner Motors P/L considered – some doubt as to the efficacy of the application – under s.606 of the FW Act, the Commission is empowered to grant a stay of the decision under appeal, not a stay of the proceedings that are the subject of the decision – having regard to the materials and arguments, Commission not satisfied the appeal is arguable with sufficient prospects of success – decision made by Dean DP was an interlocutory procedural decision of a discretionary nature – well established appeals from such decisions will not ordinarily be encouraged – in considering the adjournment application, Dean DP was required to undertake a balancing of justice between the parties – Websyte Corporation P/L v Alexander (No.2) considered – Commission held Dean DP’s refusal of the adjournment application was a patently reasonable exercise of the discretion – appellant had not pointed to any particular error in the decision – appeal only appeared to exhibit general dissatisfaction at the outcome arrived at – appellant’s application for a stay dismissed. Appeal by National Union of Workers – New South Wales Branch against interlocutory decision in transcript of Dean DP of 8 March 2017 Re: Belan
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