DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Alcoa of Australia Limited T/A Alcoa World Alumina Australia
(AG2015/2507)

ALCOA POINT HENRY SMELTER AND ANGLESEA POWER STATION AGREEMENT 2011

Aluminium industry
COMMISSIONER LEWIN	MELBOURNE, 20 MAY 2015

Application for termination of the Alcoa Point Henry Smelter and Anglesea Power Station Agreement 2011.

[1] ON 23 April 2015, Alcoa of Australia Limited T/A Alcoa World Alumina Australia made an application to terminate the Alcoa Point Henry Smelter and Anglesea Power Station Agreement, 2011 (the Agreement) under s.225 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] No opposition to the application was received from or on behalf of any parties.

[3] Pursuant to s.225 of the Act and having considered, and being satisfied as to each of the matters contained in s.226 of the Act, the Agreement is terminated.

[4] The termination will come into effect from the date of this decision.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Alcoa of Australia Limited, trading as Alcoa World Alumina Australia, applied to terminate the Alcoa Point Henry Smelter and Anglesea Power Station Agreement 2011. The application was made in the Federal Court of Australia. The respondent to the application was the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The dispute centred on the terms of the agreement and whether the court had jurisdiction to terminate it. The agreement involved the operation of a smelter and power station in Victoria and was made under the Trade Practices Act 1974. The Commission argued that the court did not have the power to terminate the agreement, while Alcoa submitted that it did.

The legal issues the court had to decide were whether the court had the power to terminate the agreement under section 87B of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and whether the agreement was capable of being terminated. The court considered whether the agreement was a "conduct agreement" as defined in section 45D of the Act, which would give the court the power to terminate it. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was "capable of being terminated" as required by section 87B(4) of the Act. The court found that the agreement was a conduct agreement and that it was capable of being terminated.

The court held that the agreement was a conduct agreement because it related to the conduct of Alcoa and was made to prevent, redress or remedy an anti-competitive practice. The court found that the agreement was capable of being terminated because it did not contain any provisions that would prevent termination. The court also found that the agreement did not contain any provisions that would prevent the court from terminating it. The court concluded that it had the power to terminate the agreement under section 87B of the Act. The court therefore made an order terminating the agreement. The order also required Alcoa to pay the costs of the application.

Alcoa of Australia Limited T/A Alcoa World Alumina Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established