DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Allen Taylor & Company Ltd T/A Boral Timber
(AG2016/7309)

BORAL TIMBER NOWRA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Timber and paper products industry
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 13 JANUARY 2017

Application for approval of the Boral Timber Nowra Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boral Timber Nowra Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Allen Taylor & Company Ltd T/A Boral Timber. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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] The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, 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 20 January 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Allen Taylor & Company Ltd, trading as Boral Timber, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Boral Timber Nowra Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which requires certain enterprise agreements to be "certified" by the Commission before they can be enforced. The dispute involved the terms of the agreement, which related to the employment conditions of workers at Boral Timber's Nowra site.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements of section 231 of the Fair Work Act. This section sets out the criteria for "simple" agreements, which do not require the Commission's approval if certain conditions are satisfied. These conditions include that the agreement does not contain any terms that are "less favourable" than the applicable awards or the National Employment Standards, and that it has been properly negotiated. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether the process of making the agreement was fair.

The Commission found that the agreement satisfied all the necessary criteria for approval. It held that the agreement did not contain any terms that were less favourable than the applicable awards or the National Employment Standards, and that it had been properly negotiated. The Commission also found that the agreement had been made in good faith and that the process of making the agreement was fair. The Commission noted that the agreement had been negotiated over several months, with multiple meetings between the parties, and that the employees had been given an opportunity to consider the proposed agreement and to seek legal advice.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Boral Timber Nowra Enterprise Agreement 2016. The Commission certified the agreement, meaning that it can now be enforced as a legally binding contract between Boral Timber and the employees covered by the agreement. The certification of the agreement ensures that the terms and conditions of employment for the employees are protected, and that the agreement can be relied upon by both parties.

Allen Taylor & Company Ltd T/A Boral Timber

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established