School fights order to reinstate partner of convicted killer

Attempts by a Catholic education group to overturn an order that they reinstate physical education teacher Patrick Cogan, the partner of convicted killer Keli Lane, have been shut down.

A vice president and two deputy presidents of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) have dismissed an appeal brought by Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) of an order to reinstate Cogan, whose relationship with Lane triggered his unfair dismissal.

St Pius X College claimed Cogan failed to follow its directions regarding media engagement about Lane, the use of his college email account, and the provision of sufficient medical information on request.

In the original decision, FWC deputy president Tony Slevin said he was not satisfied these claims justified Cogan’s dismissal late last year.

“The matters in favour of a finding that the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable include that two of the three concerns cited by the college, breaching directions about media engagement and failing to provide medical information, did not constitute valid reasons for dismissal as they were not sound, defensible or well-founded,” he said.

In the appeal application, EREA claimed Slevin erred in finding Cogan’s failure to comply with the medical condition was not a valid reason for dismissal; erred in finding the dismissal was harsh, unreasonable and unjust; and erred in ordering reinstatement and back pay.

On the first ground, FWC vice president Mark Gibian and deputy presidents Michael Easton and Alexandra Grayson pointed to Slevin’s comments that the college “had other available avenues” to seek medical information but that its decision to dismiss Cogan instead “weighed in favour of a finding that the dismissal was unfair”.

As for the second, the commission’s bench said the matters relied on by the college “may be matters about which reasonable minds may differ but could not constitute appealable errors”.

“We do not accept that Cogan’s devotion to his partner and explanation for his breach of the email direction were not relevant matters for the deputy president to take into account or that there is any reason to suggest that the deputy president failed to consider the matters the college contended were relevant to the gravity of Cogan’s conduct,” Gibian, Easton and Grayson said.

Slevin’s finding that Cogan balanced the support of his partner and his responsibilities to the college “as best as he could” was a matter of impression and could not be disturbed on appeal.

For the third, the college unsuccessfully argued it was not open for Slevin to rule on whether Cogan would comply with email directions.

“We also do not think that there is any foundation for the assertion that the deputy president failed to consider the matters raised by the college as being relevant to reinstatement, including the college’s contention that Cogan had been dishonest or less than open in relation to his involvement with the media,” the bench said.

Citation: Edmund Rice Education Australia NSW Colleges Ltd v Patrick Cogan (C2026/4713).

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