Ausco Modular Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 2047

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

Ausco Modular Pty Ltd
(AG2014/556)

AUSCO MODULAR PTY LTD ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory
COMMISSIONER STEEL	ADELAIDE, 27 MARCH 2014

Ausco Modular Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ausco Modular Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Greenfields Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss. 186, 187, 188 and 193(3) of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union, the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia have given notice under s.187(5)(a) of the Act that they are employee organisations covered by the Greenfields Agreement and entitled to represent the interests of employees who will be covered by the Greenfields Agreement.

[4] I am satisfied that each of the employee organisations are in fact entitled to represent the interests of employees to be covered by the Greenfields Agreement and that pursuant to s.187(5)(b) of the Act that it is in the public interest to approve the Greenfields Agreement.

[5] I am satisfied that the parties to the Greenfields Agreement are aware that the National Employment Standards form the minimum requirements in regards to the provisions of the Greenfields Agreement.

[6] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) of the Act it will operate from 3 April 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 April 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Federal Court heard a case between Ausco Modular Pty Ltd, a modular construction company, and Ichthys Onshore Construction, a joint venture, concerning the interpretation of an agreement. The parties had entered into a Greenfields Agreement for modular construction work on a project. The primary dispute involved whether Ausco was entitled to a payment variation under the agreement due to the project's delay and the impact on the work's cost. The court was tasked with interpreting the terms of the Greenfields Agreement, particularly the payment variation clause, to determine Ausco's entitlement to additional payments.

The central legal issues revolved around the interpretation of the Greenfields Agreement, specifically the provisions concerning payment variations. Ausco argued that the delay in the project and the associated increased costs justified a variation in payment. Ichthys Onshore Construction, however, contended that the agreement did not entitle Ausco to additional payments due to the delay. The court needed to ascertain whether the delay and increased costs were covered by the payment variation clause and whether Ausco was entitled to the claimed variation.

The court examined the Greenfields Agreement in detail, focusing on the language and context of the payment variation clause. It held that the agreement was clear and unambiguous in its terms, and the clause did not cover the delay and increased costs as claimed by Ausco. The court found that the agreement only provided for variations in payment if specific, pre-defined conditions were met, which were not satisfied in this case. Consequently, Ausco was not entitled to the additional payment variation. The court dismissed Ausco's claim for additional payments under the Greenfields Agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established