ACE NT Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 1238

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

ACE NT Pty Ltd
(AG2013/324)

ACE NT PTY LTD ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HARRISON	SYDNEY, 22 FEBRUARY 2013

Application for approval of the ACE NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the ACE NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Agreement). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement. It has been made by ACE NT Pty Ltd, The Australian Workers' Union, the "Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia.

[2] The application is made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.In particular, I am satisfied that the employee organisations, taken as a group, are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 1 March 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 21 February 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved ACE NT Pty Ltd and the application for the approval of the Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement. The agreement in question was a collective agreement between the employer and the employees working on the Ichthys Onshore Construction project. The application for approval was brought before the Fair Work Commission in the context of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue that the court needed to address was whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, specifically whether it promoted harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relations. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement provided fair terms and conditions for employees and whether it complied with the good faith bargaining provisions outlined in the Act.

The court found that the agreement did indeed promote harmonious, productive, and cooperative workplace relations. It was determined that the agreement was made in good faith and that it provided fair terms and conditions for the employees. The court also found that the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining provisions outlined in the Fair Work Act. As a result, the court approved the ACE NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the agreement and ordered that it be registered and made applicable to the employees working on the Ichthys Onshore Construction project. The agreement came into effect on the date of registration and provided a framework for the terms and conditions of employment for the employees involved in the project.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established