DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Amaroo Care Services Inc. T/A Amaroo Village
(AG2019/2817)

AMAROO CARE SERVICES INC NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Amaroo Care Services Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Amaroo Care Services Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). It has been made by Amaroo Care Services Inc. T/A Amaroo Village. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (the organisation)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), and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 12 September 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 19 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved Amaroo Care Services Inc., trading as Amaroo Village, and its registered employees' union. The dispute centred on the application for the approval of the Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018. The union had submitted the agreement for approval, and the employer contested certain aspects, arguing that the proposed terms did not comply with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the court needed to decide included whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval, specifically in terms of procedural fairness, the content of the agreement, and its compliance with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The employer's primary contention was that the union had not followed the necessary procedures in negotiating the agreement, and that some of the proposed terms were not consistent with the provisions of the Act.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the union had indeed followed the requisite procedures for negotiation and that the agreement did not contain any terms that were contrary to the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the union had demonstrated procedural fairness in its dealings with the employer, and that the proposed terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable. Consequently, the application for the approval of the Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018 was approved. The Commission's decision was grounded in the evidence presented and the applicable statutory framework.

Amaroo Care Services Inc. T/A Amaroo Village

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established