DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd
(AG2019/1500)

ARMSTRONG CONSTRUCTION (VIC) PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 18 JUNE 2019

Application for approval of the Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd.

[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.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation 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 25 June 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 June 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd, who applied for the approval of their enterprise agreement. The dispute centred around the provisions of the agreement that were not aligned with the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The primary legal issues the court had to decide were whether the contested provisions of the enterprise agreement contravened the Fair Work Act and, if so, whether the contraventions were minor and could be overlooked for the sake of maintaining good industrial relations. The court also needed to consider whether the provisions could be modified to bring them into compliance with the law.

The Fair Work Commission found that several provisions of the agreement did indeed contravene the Fair Work Act, primarily due to their failure to meet the statutory minimum standards. However, the Commission concluded that these contraventions were minor and did not significantly undermine the purpose of the Act. Given the relatively minor nature of the contraventions and the overall positive impact of the agreement on industrial relations, the Commission decided to approve the enterprise agreement with the offending provisions modified to align with the law. This decision ensured that the agreement could be implemented while maintaining compliance with the statutory requirements.

Armstrong Construction (Vic) Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established