Legal hitch could hit Thomson case

17 May 2012, 4:30 pm   -   Source: AAP
(AAP)

(AAP)

An industrial law expert says a time limit for bringing workplace cases to court could see the end of Fair Work Australia's action against Craig Thomson.

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The Craig Thomson case is unlikely to reach a conclusion before the 2013 election and could even end up in the High Court, an industrial law expert says.

The suggestion coincides with the NSW ALP's declaration that its July state conference will hear details of how much the party paid to cover Mr Thomson's legal fees.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) plans to take Federal Court action against Mr Thomson after an investigation by the industrial tribunal found he misused almost $500,000 in members' funds when he was Health Services Union general secretary from 2002.

Mr Thomson served in the HSU role until his election in late 2007 as Labor MP for the NSW seat of Dobell. He denies the allegations against him.

Adelaide University's Professor Andrew Stewart says a case in the Federal Magistrates Court regarding the Fair Work Ombudsman and the company Toyota Material Handling had confirmed there was a two-year limit for bringing actions under the former Workplace Relations Act in NSW.

FWA found Mr Thomson may have breached this act when he was HSU boss.

"If the Toyota decision is correct then it would certainly appear to mean the Craig Thomson charges are out of time," Prof Stewart told AAP on Thursday.

But he said the legal issues discussed in the Toyota case were "difficult and complex", and the Fair Work Ombudsman was taking an appeal to the Federal Court.

The appeal will be heard in Sydney on August 21.

Prof Stewart said once FWA brought its case against Mr Thomson and the HSU to the Federal Court, there would be a question of whether the judge heard the case and waited for the Toyota appeal or went ahead with the Thomson case.

"You could potentially get different judges reaching different conclusions, and it wouldn't surprise me if it ends up in the High Court," Prof Stewart said.

"We've got a way to go, and it seems to me one way or another Craig Thomson's political fate will be decided well before these civil proceedings are resolved."

Mr Thomson on Monday will make a statement to parliament spelling out his innocence and attacking FWA for denying him natural justice and conducting a shoddy investigation.

He is also expected to name HSU officials who he says set him up with escort services to damage his political prospects.

Mr Thomson could face a referral to the parliament's privileges committee over his late reporting on the members' interest register of legal expenses paid to him by the NSW ALP.

The NSW ALP plans to reveal the amount it paid at a conference in July.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten told the ACTU Congress in Sydney that the conduct of some HSU officials had been "completely inappropriate".

But he said he would not let the "smear be transferred across all unionists".

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