Principles of interpretation
10 The general approach to the manner in which industrial instruments, such as the present Enterprise Agreement, are to be construed is well-settled.
11 An oft-repeated formulation of that general approach is that provided as follows by Madgwick J in Kucks v CSR Ltd (1996) 66 IR 182 at 184:
Legal principles
It is trite that narrow or pedantic approaches to the interpretation of an award are misplaced. The search is for the meaning intended by the framer(s) of the document, bearing in mind that such framer(s) were likely of a practical bent of mind: they may well have been more concerned with expressing an intention in ways likely to have been understood in the context of the relevant industry and industrial relations environment than with legal niceties or jargon. Thus, for example, it is justifiable to read the award to give effect to its evident purposes, having regard to such context, despite mere inconsistencies or infelicities of expression which might tend to some other reading. And meanings which avoid inconvenience or injustice may reasonably be strained for. For reasons such as these, expressions which have been held in the case of other instruments to have been used to mean particular things may sensibly and properly be held to mean something else in the document at hand.
But the task remains one of interpreting a document produced by another or others. A court is not free to give effect to some anteriorly derived notion of what would be fair or just, regardless of what has been written into the award. Deciding what an existing award means is a process quite different from deciding, as an arbitral body does, what might fairly be put into an award. So, for example, ordinary or well-understood words are in general to be accorded their ordinary or usual meaning.
See also: Transport Workers' Union of Australia v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd [2014] FCA 829 at [30], (2014) 318 ALR 54 at 58 per Tracey J; Australian Workers' Union v Cleanevent Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 1477 at [13] per Flick J.
12 It is also well-settled that the words of an award are not to be construed "in a vacuum divorced from industrial realities": City of Wanneroo v Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union [2006] FCA 813 at [57], (2006) 153 IR 426 at 440. French J (as his Honour then was) observed in that case, in part, as follows (at 438 to 439):
[53] The construction of an award, like that of a statute, begins with a consideration of the ordinary meaning of its words. As with the task of statutory construction regard must be paid to the context and purpose of the provision or expression being construed. Context may appear from the text of the instrument taken as a whole, its arrangement and the place in it of the provision under construction. It is not confined to the words of the relevant Act or instrument surrounding the expression to be construed. It may extend to '… the entire document of which it is a part or to other documents with which there is an association'. It may also include '… ideas that gave rise to an expression in a document from which it has been taken'…
His Honour continued on to observe (at 440):
[57] It is of course necessary, in the construction of an award, to remember, as a contextual consideration, that it is an award under consideration. Its words must not be interpreted in a vacuum divorced from industrial realities - City of Wanneroo v Holmes (1989) 30 IR 362 at 378-379 and cases there cited. There is a long tradition of generous construction over a strictly literal approach where industrial awards are concerned - see eg Geo A Bond and Co Ltd (in liq) v McKenzie [1929] AR 499 at 503-504 (Street J). It may be that this means no more than that courts and tribunals will not make too much of infelicitous expression in the drafting of an award nor be astute to discern absurdity or illogicality or apparent inconsistencies. But while fractured and illogical prose may be met by a generous and liberal approach to construction, I repeat what I said in City of Wanneroo v Holmes (at 380):
Awards, whether made by consent or otherwise, should make sense according to the basic conventions of the English language. They bind the parties on pain of pecuniary penalties.
13 Drawing upon these and other authorities, a more recent summary of the principles of construction to be applied to the interpretation of industrial awards and enterprise agreements is the following provided by Rangiah J in Swissport Australia Pty Ltd v Australian Municipal Administrative Clerical and Services Union (No 3) [2019] FCA 37, (2019) 284 IR 97 at 107 to 108:
The principles of construction of awards
[52] The principles of construction of awards are well-settled and include the following:
(1) The canons of construction found in the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) apply to awards of the Commission: City of Wanneroo v Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (2006) 153 IR 426 at [52]; Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (Construction and General Division) v Master Builders' Group Training Scheme Inc (2007) 161 IR 86 at [33]; Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia v Excelior Pty Ltd [2013] FCA 638 at [29]; Sydney Night Patrol & Inquiry Co Pty Ltd v Pulleine [2014] FCA 385 at [26].
(2) The task of construction begins with the natural and ordinary meaning of the words used: City of Wanneroo at [53]; Kucks v CSR Limited (1996) 66 IR 182 at 184; Australian Workers' Union v Cleanevent Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 1477 at [13].
(3) An award is to be interpreted in light of its industrial context and purpose: City of Wanneroo at [53]; Zader v Truck Moves Australia Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 83 at [27]; Prestige Property Services Pty Ltd v Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (2007) 161 FCR 95; 166 IR 165 at [56] and [109]; Soliman v University of Technology, Sydney (2008) 176 IR 183 at [82]
(4) An award is also to be interpreted in light of the commercial and legislative context in which it applies: Amcor Ltd v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (2005) 222 CLR 241; 138 IR 286 at [2] and [13]; Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v John Holland Pty Ltd (2010) 186 FCR 88; 204 IR 309 at [90]; Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association v Woolworths SA Pty Ltd [2011] FCAFC 67 at [14]-[18]; Zader at [27].
(5) An award "must not be interpreted in a vacuum divorced from industrial realities": City of Wanneroo at [57]; Australian Workers' Union v Cleanevent Australia Pty Ltd at [14].
(6) The relevant "context" to be considered in interpreting an award extends to the origins of a particular clause. However, most often the immediate context, being the clause, section or part of the award in which the words to be interpreted appear, will be the clearest guide: Short v FW Hercus Pty Ltd (1993) 40 FCR 511 at 517-19; 46 IR 128 at 133-136.
(7) The Court should not make too much of infelicitous expression in the drafting of an award. Ultimately, as awards bind the parties on pain of pecuniary penalties, they should make sense according to the basic conventions of the English language: City of Wanneroo at [57]. Narrow or pedantic approaches to the construction task are misplaced, but a court is not free to give effect to some anteriorly derived notion of what is fair or just regardless of what has been written in the award: Kucks at 184; Excelior Pty Ltd at [30].
(8) While context and purpose of an award will be relevant, ultimately the Court's task is to give effect to the meaning of the award as expressed in its words, objectively construed: Amcor Ltd at [70], [77]-[114].