The NSW Industrial Court has ruled that an application to place HSUeast into administration should be heard urgently because it is “completely dysfunctional and its ability to represent its members’ industrial interests is imperilled”.

This afternoon, Justice Robert Boland ordered the hearing for the application to commence on May 28 for five days.

HSU East is the federally registered body, while HSUeast is the state-registered body.

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Justice Boland said that, while a similar set of proceedings was under way in the Federal Court, and a three-week hearing had been set down from June 5, the NSW court should act in regard to HSUeast as quickly as possible.

He noted the HSU national secretary, Kathy Jackson, had foreshadowed making an application to cross-vest the state proceedings to the Federal Court to avoid “a multiplicity of proceedings”.

But he said the majority of the other parties had asked the Industrial Court to hear the matter before the Federal Court did.

Outside the court, Ms Jackson said the decision would lead to a waste of time and resources for both taxpayers and the HSU membership.

She said her lawyers would be applying to the NSW Supreme Court this afternoon to have the proceedings cross-vested.

“I think it’s ridiculous to have two hearings,” she said.

“They are common matters … I don’t see the sense of us having to waste members’ money appearing here and in the Federal Court as well. The appropriate body to deal with it is the Federal Court as it’s already before them.

“You could end up in a bizarre scenario where you have one administrator for the state branch and a different administrator for the federal branch. That’s not a good outcome for the members,” she said.

Justice Boland also ordered the NSW Minister for Industrial Relations, Greg Pearce, to prepare an alternate scheme of administration to that suggested by HSUeast.