The Fair Work Ombudsman, an authority responsible for enforcing Australian workplace laws, initiated proceedings against Quest South Perth in the Federal Court of Australia.

The Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia found Quest South Perth had not contravened section 357 because it had used a third party to convert the employees to independent contractors.

The High Court of Australia found that Quest South Perth had contravened section 357 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The contracting company held meetings with the three employees and pressured them to become independent contractors, stating that it would be advantageous, without disclosing the disadvantages of losing their workplace rights.

[6] Justices North and Bromberg observed that "when determining whether a relationship is one of employment", it is necessary "to ensure that form and presentation do not distract the Court from identifying the substance of what has been truly agreed".

[10] In a joint judgment, the High Court majority consisting of Chief Justice French and Justices Kiefel, Bell, Gageler, and Nettle found that Quest's attempt to "convert" the employees to independent contractor status constituted a breach of section 357 of the Act and that "Who might be the counterparty to the represented contract for services, and whether that counterparty might be a real or fictional entity, is correspondingly immaterial to the operation of the provision".