Case

Sydney International Container Terminals Pty Ltd v Craig Hancock (2025)

An employee at the Port Botany Terminal was dismissed after returning a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) following a crane accident. His employer had recently updated its Drug and Alcohol Policy, which replaced the former BAC limit of 0.02 with a limit of zero. Immediately after the incident, the employee tested with a 0.025 BAC, with a confirmatory test shortly after showing 0.017.

The employer relied on it new zero-tolerance policy to justify dismissal. However, the employee argued, and the Fair Work Commission (FWC) agreed, that he had not been informed of the change to the BAC limit.