Year: 2023

The Full Court of the High Court of Australia unanimously dismissed Qantas’s final appeal, upholding the Federal Court’s original decision that the airline had breached the Fair Work Act 2009.

In a statement, the Flying Kangaroo apologised for the personal impact of the sackings and accepted the High Court’s verdict, but maintained that the “restructuring” of its business was necessary for its survival.

The Flying Kangaroo’s appeal was unanimously dismissed by the High Court on Wednesday, prompting the union to call for a spill of the Board, including Chairman Richard Goyder, to be replaced by new directors including a workers’ representative.

The Flying Kangaroo had argued against a 2021 ruling by the Full Federal Court that it had illegally sacked 1,683 workers in 2020–21. That decision was then subsequently upheld in an appeal last year. 

In this special Premium Podcast, Matthew Cameron-Smith, CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism, tells Jake Nelson how Uluru’s massive new drone show came to be and how it is honouring the local Anangu Country and culture.

Qantas’s last-ditch bid follows a 2021 ruling that it had illegally sacked 1,683 workers in 2020–21 to head off industrial action, which was upheld last year by the Full Federal Court. The airline has argued that the workers did not have the right to take protected industrial action (PIA) at the time.