Amanda Lowe Health Services Pty Ltd ATF Amanda Lowe Unit Trust Summary

[2013] FWCA 9212

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Amanda Lowe Health Services Pty Ltd ATF Amanda Lowe Unit Trust
(AG2013/11449)

BACK IN MOTION HEALTH GROUP MENTONE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMILTON	MELBOURNE, 21 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Back in Motion Health Group Mentone Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Back in Motion Health Group Mentone Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Amanda Lowe Health Services Pty Ltd ATF Amanda Lowe Unit Trust. 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] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 28 November 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 November 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Amanda Lowe Health Services Pty Ltd, trading as Back in Motion Health Group, sought approval of the Back in Motion Health Group Mentone Enterprise Agreement 2013 from the Fair Work Commission. The applicant sought to implement the agreement for its employees in the Mentone area, with the Fair Work Commission exercising its powers under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the procedural and substantive requirements set out in the Fair Work Act, specifically regarding the process through which the agreement was formed and its provisions.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural and substantive fairness requirements outlined in the Fair Work Act. The applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The Commission needed to examine the negotiation process, the fairness of the terms, and whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence provided by the applicant regarding the negotiation process and the terms of the agreement. It found that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the agreement was genuinely negotiated. The Commission also found that the agreement contained terms that were not fair and reasonable. Consequently, the Commission decided that the application for approval of the Back in Motion Health Group Mentone Enterprise Agreement 2013 should be dismissed.

The Fair Work Commission dismissed the application for approval of the Back in Motion Health Group Mentone Enterprise Agreement 2013. The Commission found that the applicant had failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that it contained terms that were not fair and reasonable. The Commission did not approve the agreement, and it remained inoperative.

Amanda Lowe Health Services Pty Ltd ATF Amanda Lowe Unit Trust

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established