Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth

Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth
Court	High Court of Australia
Full case name	Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth Holdings Pty Ltd [2015] HCA 45
Case history
Appealed from	Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth Holdings Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 37
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, Nettle JJ.

Fair Work Ombudsman v Quest South Perth is a 2015 decision of the High Court of Australia. Quest, a company operating serviced apartment hotels across Australia, used a third-party labour hire company to change the employment status of two housekeepers and a receptionist from employees to independent contractors at its South Perth site. They would then no longer be owed the minimum workplace entitlements owed to employees in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman, an authority responsible for enforcing Australian workplace laws, initiated proceedings against Quest South Perth in the Federal Court of Australia.

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleged the conversion breached section 357 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This section prohibits employers from misrepresenting employment as an independent contracting arrangement. The Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia found Quest South Perth had not contravened section 357 because it had used a third party to convert the employees to independent contractors. The Fair Work Ombudsman then appealed that finding to the High Court of Australia, asking it to find whether an employer can avoid contravening section 357 by introducing a third-party labour hire company into an agreement between itself and its employee. The High Court of Australia found that Quest South Perth had contravened section 357 of the Fair Work Act 2009.