Profile

Boilermakers’ Society of Australia

Overview

The Boilermakers' Society of Australia was a registered trade union representing workers in the metal and engineering trades. It was one of several industrial organisations operating within Australia’s federal conciliation and arbitration system during the twentieth century.

The Society became constitutionally significant due to its involvement in the 1956 High Court case R v Kirby; Ex parte Boilermakers’ Society of Australia. That case concerned the validity of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and whether a body exercising arbitral functions could also exercise federal judicial power.

Constitutional Significance

The High Court held that judicial power under Chapter III of the Australian Constitution can only be exercised by courts constituted in accordance with Chapter III requirements. A body cannot validly exercise both judicial and non-judicial powers at the same time.

This decision established a foundational principle of the separation of judicial power in Australia and reshaped the structure of the federal industrial relations system.