DECISION

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

Australian Country Choice Pty Ltd T/A Australian Country Choice
(AG2014/8193)

AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY CHOICE FEEDLOT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Meat Industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	BRISBANE, 9 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Australian Country Choice Feedlot Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Country Choice Feedlot Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Australian Country Choice Pty Ltd. The agreement is a multi-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] On 5 December 2014 undertakings were provided by the Employer. Pursuant to s.190 of the Act, I accept the Employer’s undertakings. In accordance with s.201(3) of the Act I note that a copy of the undertakings is attached to the Agreement and forms part of the Agreement.

[4]
The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 16 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 December 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Australian Country Choice Pty Ltd trading as Australian Country Choice, sought approval of the Australian Country Choice Feedlot Enterprise Agreement 2014. The applicant contended that the agreement was an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. The respondent, the Rural and Farm Workers Union of Australia, opposed the application on the grounds that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The case was heard by the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issues revolved around whether the agreement was a genuine agreement and whether it met the criteria set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 for being an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. The respondent argued that the agreement did not meet the criteria because it had not been formed in the absence of pressurised bargaining and because it did not meet the requirements for being a single, integrated, and indivisible agreement. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine agreement and met the criteria for being an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.

The Commission found that the agreement was a genuine agreement and met the criteria for being an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. The Commission rejected the respondent's argument that the agreement had been formed in the context of pressurised bargaining, finding instead that the agreement had been formed through a process of genuine and meaningful consultation between the parties. The Commission also found that the agreement was a single, integrated, and indivisible agreement, meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it was in the best interests of the employees covered by the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Australian Country Choice Feedlot Enterprise Agreement 2014 as an Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. The decision was made on the basis that the agreement was a genuine agreement and met the criteria set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission found that the agreement had been formed through a process of genuine and meaningful consultation between the parties and that it was a single, integrated, and indivisible agreement. The approval of the agreement ensures that employees in the feedlot industry will receive fair and consistent pay and conditions.

Australian Country Choice Pty Ltd T/A Australian Country Choice

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established