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Fair Work Commission Rules 2024
22Serving by persons other than the FWC
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22 Serving by persons other than the FWC
(1) Subject to these Rules, and any directions of the FWC, a person that is required to serve a document on another person must serve the document as soon as practicable.
(2) The document may be served on the other person:
(a) by leaving the document with, or tendering the document to:
(i) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is an individual—the person or representative; or
(ii) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is a body corporate, an organisation or a branch of an organisation—the secretary of the body corporate, the organisation or the branch; or
(b) by leaving the document:
(i) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is an individual—with an individual, apparently over the age of 15 years, at the residence, or usual place of business, of the person or representative; or
(ii) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is a body corporate, an organisation or a branch of an organisation—at the registered office of the body corporate or the office of the organisation or branch; or
(iii) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, has notified an address for service in the matter—at that address; or
(c) if subrule (3) is complied with, by posting the document in a prepaid envelope sent by express post or registered post to:
(i) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is an individual—the residence, or usual place of business, of the person or representative; or
(ii) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, is a body corporate, an organisation or a branch of an organisation—the secretary, at the registered office of the body corporate or the office of the organisation or branch; or
(iii) if the person, or the person’s nominated representative, has notified an address for service in the matter—that address; or
(d) if subrule (4) is complied with, by emailing the document to an email address:
(i) currently published as the email address of the person or the person’s nominated representative; or
(ii) advised by the person or the person’s nominated representative, in response to a request for an email address that was made immediately before the transmission of the document, as the person’s or representative’s email address; or
(iii) appearing as the email address of the person or the person’s nominated representative on a document lodged with the FWC by the person or representative in the same matter; or
(e) if subrule (4) is complied with, by emailing the document to the email address of an employee if:
(i) the person to be served is an employee of the person who is serving the document; and
(ii) a common form of communication between the employer and the employee is by email to that particular email address; and
(iii) it is reasonable for the employer to expect that an email to that particular email address will be received by the employee; or
(f) using the FWC’s online lodgment facilities if:
(i) the document was lodged using those facilities; and
(ii) the email address specified for service is an email address of a kind mentioned in paragraph (d) or (e).
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(c), the person serving the document must retain the barcode of the prepaid envelope and produce it if required by the FWC.
(4) For the purposes of paragraphs (2)(d) and (e), the person serving the document must:
(i) retain the email as a “sent item”, showing the email address to which the email was sent and the date and time that it was sent; or
(ii) retain a “delivered” statement or a “read receipt” showing the email address to which the email was sent and the date and time that it was delivered or read; and
(b) produce the retained document if required by the FWC.
(5) For the purposes of section 29 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, if a document is served by posting it in accordance with paragraph (2)(c) of this rule, a certificate:
(a) signed by:
(i) a person occupying, or performing the duties of, the office of Managing Director, Australian Postal Corporation; or
(ii) a person authorised in writing by that person to give a certificate under this subrule; and
(b) stating that a letter that was posted (with prepaid postage) at a specified time, on a specified day and at a specified place, and addressed to a specified address, would, in the ordinary course of the post, have been delivered at that address on a specified day;
is evidence of the facts stated.
Note: For the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 that applies to these Rules, see section 40A of the Act.