NSW ruling confirms victimisation laws kick in before a contract is signed
Pulling a job offer over a candidate's political views just became legally risky for NSW employers, a tribunal has confirmed.
On 27 February 2026, Commissioner O'Sullivan of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales dismissed a bid by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to have a victimisation claim thrown out, ruling the Commission has jurisdiction to hear it.
The case centres on Darren Cook, who was offered a non-executive role with the department before the offer was withdrawn on 16 August 2024. Cook alleged the withdrawal was because of his engagement in political activity, a protected ground under the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW). He filed a claim seeking orders for his employment and payment of lost remuneration.
The department's position was direct: the failure to hire someone into a non-executive public service role is not an "industrial matter," meaning the Commission had no power to hear the case at all.
Commissioner O'Sullivan disagreed.
The ruling turned on a critical point. While certain aspects of public sector hiring fall outside the Commission's reach, that carve-out does not extend to victimisation claims. As the Commissioner found: "There is nothing on the face of the s 58 of the GSE Act, nor the balance of the Act which leads to an interpretation that Parliament had intended to implicitly remove the right for a prospective employee to bring a...
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