DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd T/A ABCorp
(AG2018/2752)

ABCORP AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD DANDENONG ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Graphic Arts
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 3 JANUARY 2019

Application for approval of the ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd Dandenong Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd Dandenong Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd T/A ABCorp. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 10 January 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd, trading as ABCorp, applied for the approval of the Dandenong Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was made before the Fair Work Commission, which was asked to determine whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose from the terms of the enterprise agreement and the parties' contentions regarding its compliance with the Act.

The primary legal issues the court needed to address were whether the agreement met the requirements for "better off overall" and "no disadvantaging" tests as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. ABCorp argued that the agreement provided employees with benefits that made them better off overall, while the opposing party claimed that the agreement unfairly disadvantaged certain employees. The court had to examine the terms of the agreement, the evidence presented by both parties, and the implications of the agreement on the employees' conditions of employment.

After careful consideration of the evidence and the arguments presented by both parties, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement complied with the "better off overall" and "no disadvantaging" tests. The Commission determined that the agreement provided employees with overall benefits and did not unfairly disadvantage any employee group. Consequently, the application for approval of the Dandenong Enterprise Agreement 2017 was successful. The Commission approved the agreement, which will now govern the employment conditions of the employees covered by the agreement.

ABCorp Australasia Pty Ltd T/A ABCorp

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established