DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership
(AG2015/6951)

COOINDA AGED CARE AND QNU - NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015.

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 13 JANUARY 2016

Application for approval of the Cooinda Aged Care and QNU - Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015

[1] On 11 December 2015 Armest Pty Ltd T/A Miles Witt Partnership (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Cooinda Aged care and QNU – Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single -enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, has been met.

[4] The Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s 183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s 201(2), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 20 January 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 October 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Armest Pty Ltd trading as Miles Witt Partnership, sought approval of the Cooinda Aged Care and QNU - Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015. The applicant, a registered aged care provider, and the respondents, the Queensland Nurses Union and its members, entered into an enterprise agreement which provided for terms and conditions of employment for registered nurses. The applicant applied for the agreement to be approved as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute before the court was whether the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Act.

The court had to determine whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, if it contained the required 'protected action provisions', and if it was appropriately certified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Key issues included the role of the union in negotiating the agreement, whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms as per the Fair Work Act, and if the agreement was consistent with the public interest provisions of the Act.

The court found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the parties and contained all the necessary protected action provisions. It was certified by the Commission, and thus met the requirements of the Act. The court considered the roles of the union and the employer in the negotiation process and concluded that the agreement was consistent with the Act's provisions. The court approved the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement.

The court ordered the approval of the Cooinda Aged Care and QNU - Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015 as a registered enterprise agreement, effective from the date of the approval. The agreement was to be registered and published in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

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