Referring questions of law to the Federal Court
608 Referring questions of law to the Federal Court
The President may refer a question of law arising in a matter before the FWC for the opinion of the Federal Court.
A question of law referred under subsection (1) must be determined by the Full Court of the Federal Court.
The FWC may make a decision in relation to the matter even if the Federal Court is determining the question of law, except if the question is whether the FWC may exercise powers in relation to the matter.
Once the Federal Court has determined the question, the FWC may only make a decision in relation to the matter that is not inconsistent with the opinion of the Federal Court (if the FWC has not already done so).
However, if the FWC has made a decision in relation to the matter that is inconsistent with the opinion of the Federal Court, the FWC must vary the decision in such a way as to make it consistent with the opinion of the Federal Court.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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