Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership

[2021] FWCA 6401

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership
(AG2021/7715)

PROACTIVE FOUR ENTERPRISES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 22 OCTOBER 2021

Application for approval of the Proactive Four Enterprises Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Proactive Four Enterprises Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings (Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[4] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings. The Undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 29 October 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 21 October 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties in this matter were Armest Pty Ltd, trading as the Miles Witt Partnership, and the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centred on the application for approval of the Proactive Four Enterprises Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021, a proposed agreement that sought to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for certain employees. The application was heard and determined in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The applicant, Armest Pty Ltd, argued that the agreement should be approved as it met the statutory requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009, including provisions for minimum wages, penalty rates, and leave entitlements.

The primary legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the proposed agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. This involved assessing whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, whether it contained mandatory terms that met or exceeded the minimum standards prescribed by the Act, and whether the agreement provided for appropriate processes for the resolution of disputes. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement would have a detrimental effect on the employees it sought to cover.

In determining the application, the court examined the evidence and submissions presented by both parties. It found that the proposed agreement was genuinely negotiated and contained terms that met or exceeded the minimum standards prescribed by the Act. The court was satisfied that the agreement provided for appropriate processes for the resolution of disputes and that it would not have a detrimental effect on the employees it sought to cover. Consequently, the court approved the Proactive Four Enterprises Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021, finding it to be a lawful and fair agreement. As a result, the agreement will now regulate the terms and conditions of employment for the employees it covers, subject to the provisions of the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established