DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership
(AG2016/5319)

CARINYA HOME FOR THE AGED SUPPORT STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 10 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the Carinya Home for the Aged Support Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Carinya Home for the Aged Support Staff 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 Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership. 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] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 October 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 April 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Armest Pty Ltd, trading as the Miles Witt Partnership, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Carinya Home for the Aged Support Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016. The respondent, Aged and Community Services Union, objected to the application on the grounds that the agreement did not comply with certain statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the commission was whether the agreement met all the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the commission needed to determine if the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, if it had been made in good faith, and if it contained the requisite provisions and information as mandated by the Act.

In its decision, the commission examined the submissions and evidence provided by both parties. It found that while the agreement contained most of the required provisions, it was deficient in relation to certain minimum entitlements. Despite these shortcomings, the commission concluded that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement made in good faith and that the deficiencies did not significantly impede the operation of the agreement. The commission approved the agreement on the basis that the benefits of the agreement outweighed any minor deficiencies.

The commission ordered that the Carinya Home for the Aged Support Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016 be approved with specific conditions to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act. These conditions included a requirement for the parties to provide updated information on minimum entitlements within a specified timeframe.

Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established