DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ausreo Pty Ltd
(AG2021/6107)

AUSREO VICTORIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT - 2020

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 10 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the Ausreo Victoria Enterprise Agreement - 2020.

[1] Ausreo Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ausreo Victoria Enterprise Agreement - 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) provided to employees was not in the prescribed form. The Employer provided submissions as to this error on 27 July 2021. I am satisfied having regard to those submissions and the Full Bench decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Ltd T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others 1 (Huntsman)that this constitutes a minor technical or procedural error for the purposes s 188(2)(a) of Act. Further, I am satisfied that employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error.

[3] Accordingly, notwithstanding the matters identified in paragraph [2] above, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(2).

[4] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, and the accompanying statutory declaration and the additional information provided by the Employer, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Australian Workers' Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it seeks to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[7] The Agreement was approved on 10 August 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 17 August 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

1 [2019] FWCFB 318

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ausreo Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Ausreo Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2020. The application was opposed by the Victorian Trades Hall Council. The nature of the dispute centred on the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement and whether it complied with the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission, presided over by Commissioner Prowse, was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary statutory criteria for approval.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement provided for the protection of employee rights, the fairness of the terms and conditions proposed, and the proper procedures followed in the negotiation of the agreement. Additionally, the Commission had to assess whether the agreement provided for appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of workplace disputes and the extent to which it aligned with the objectives of the Fair Work Act. The opposition raised concerns about the potential impact on employees' wages and conditions.

The Commission found that the agreement provided adequate protection of employee rights and was fair in its terms and conditions. It was noted that the agreement contained provisions for the resolution of workplace disputes and aligned with the objectives of the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the negotiation process was conducted in good faith and that the agreement was not likely to have a detrimental effect on the employees. Consequently, the application was approved, and the Ausreo Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2020 was authorised to come into effect.

Ausreo 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