DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Aegis Aged Care Staff Pty Ltd T/A Aegis Aged Care Group
(AG2019/1145)

AEGIS AGED CARE GROUP (ANF) NURSES COLLECTIVE WORKPLACE AGREEMENT 2019

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT KOVACIC	CANBERRA, 28 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the Aegis Aged Care Group (ANF) Nurses Collective Workplace Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Aegis Aged Care Group (ANF) Nurses Collective Workplace Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Aegis Aged Care Staff Pty Ltd T/A Aegis Aged Care Group. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] As noted, pursuant to s.190(3), I have accepted undertakings from the employer. In accordance with s.191(1) of the Act the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertakings is attached to this decision.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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 5 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Aegis Aged Care Staff Pty Ltd, trading as Aegis Aged Care Group, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Aegis Aged Care Group (ANF) Nurses Collective Workplace Agreement 2019. The dispute centred around whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 for approval and registration. The Fair Work Commission was the court in this matter.

The legal issues that the Commission had to decide included whether the agreement contained all the prescribed minimum terms, whether it had been negotiated in good faith, and whether it complied with the requirements for the approval of a low paid workforce agreement. The Commission also needed to determine whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement contained all the prescribed minimum terms and had been negotiated in good faith. The Commission also found that the agreement was in accordance with the Act. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met the requirements for the approval of a low paid workforce agreement. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for a substantial increase in wages and conditions for nurses employed by Aegis Aged Care Group.

The Commission ordered that the Aegis Aged Care Group (ANF) Nurses Collective Workplace Agreement 2019 be approved and registered. The agreement will now apply to nurses employed by Aegis Aged Care Group, providing them with improved wages and conditions.

Aegis Aged Care Staff Pty Ltd T/A Aegis Aged Care Group

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established