DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Inc
(AG2015/6861)

ADELAIDE COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE ALLIED HEALTH EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2015 - 2018

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 16 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Allied Health Employees Collective Agreement 2015 - 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Allied Health Employees Collective Agreement 2015 - 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Inc. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Health Services Union of Australia 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 23 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 March 2018.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Inc. (ACHA) filed an application seeking approval for the Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Allied Health Employees Collective Agreement 2015-2018. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the agreement's compliance with the statutory requirements for a certified agreement, particularly focusing on the provisions relating to enterprise bargaining and the agreement's overall fairness and reasonableness.

The primary legal issues the Commission had to resolve were whether the agreement was genuinely the product of bargaining between ACHA and the relevant union, and whether the agreement satisfied the 'better off overall test' as required by section 230 of the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the Commission needed to ensure that the agreement did not have an adverse effect on the working conditions of employees and that it met the criteria for being a 'single, integrated' agreement as per the Act.

The Commission examined the evidence presented by both parties and found that the agreement was indeed the result of genuine bargaining. The Commission also determined that the agreement met the better off overall test, as it provided benefits to the employees that outweighed any disadvantages. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and it did not have an adverse effect on the working conditions of employees. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it to be compliant with the statutory requirements.

The Fair Work Commission granted the application and approved the Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Allied Health Employees Collective Agreement 2015-2018 as a certified agreement. The agreement became effective from the date of the Commission's decision, and it will govern the employment conditions of the relevant employees until the end of the agreement's term.

Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Inc

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established