Yipirinya principal Gavin Morris’s unfair dismissal case turfed by Fair Work Commission
An unfair dismissal bid lodged by an Alice Springs principal accused of physically assaulting children has been thrown out after he failed to respond to emails and calls from the Fair Work Commission.
An unfair dismissal bid lodged by an Alice Springs principal accused of physically assaulting children has been thrown out after he ignored persistent phone calls and emails from the Fair Work Commission.
Gavin Morris, the former head of Central Australia’s largest school for Indigenous students, Yipirinya, is currently awaiting trial after he was last year charged with historical aggravated physical assault against multiple children.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Morris was stood down with full pay after the allegations were first aired in August last year. The Australian understands his employment was terminated shortly after, and he has not received an income from the school in months.
The Australian can reveal that Mr Morris lodged an unfair dismissal claim against the Yipirinya School Council in December, which was due to be heard at its first conciliation conference in February.
However, according to a Fair Work Commission decision published last week, Mr Morris did not attend the conference despite repeat reminders to do so.
“Commission staff tried to contact the applicant about whether he wished to continue his unfair dismissal application on the following dates: 17 February 2025 by email and telephone; 27 February 2025 by email and express post; and 19 March 2025 by email and text message,” the decision reads.
“The email from deputy president Easton Chambers dated 19 March 2025 put the applicant on notice that the Commission was considering dismissing his application and required the applicant to respond by 4.00pm on 28 March 2025. The applicant has not responded to the Commission’s correspondence.”
The Commission’s deputy president Abbey Beaumont ultimately ruled that the matter should be dismissed due to Mr Morris’s communication failures.
“If an applicant’s conduct or omissions show that they are no longer willing to participate in their own case, the Commission is not required to persevere with the application,” she wrote in the decision.
Mr Morris told The Australian the matter was not pursued because he did not “meet eligibility criteria”. “We are going down a different ... legal pathway,” he said.
Police alleged officers in June last year received reports of historical physical assaults on children at the school throughout 2023. The alleged victims were aged between six and 13 at the time of the alleged offending.
Mr Morris stepped down from his duties for Alice Springs Town Council in March.
He will face court in September for a 10-day hearing where he will contest all charges.
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