DECISION

Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009
Sch. 3, Item 16 - Application to terminate collective agreement-based transitional instrument

Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group Pty Ltd T/A Parap Tavern
(AG2015/2752)

NT PUBCO PTY LTD COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2008 - 2013

Hospitality industry
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 3 JUNE 2015

Application for termination of the NT Pubco Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2008 - 2013.

[1] On 20 May 2015 the Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group Pty Ltd filed an application pursuant to Item 16, Schedule 3 of the Fai Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (“the TPCA Act”) to terminate the NT Pubco Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2008 - 2013 (“the Agreement”).

[2] The Agreement is a collective agreement-based transitional instrument which has passed its nominal expiry date.

[3] Item 16, Schedule 3 of the TPCA Act provides that Subdivision D of Division 7 of Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act 2009 ("the FW Act") applies to applications to terminate collective agreement-based transitional instruments that have passed their nominal expiry date. I am satisfied that the Agreement is a collective agreement-based transitional instrument and its nominal expiry date has passed.

[4] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of s.226 of the FW Act as are relevant to this application for termination have been met.

[5] In accordance with s.227 of the FW Act, the termination will come into effect on 3 June 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved the Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group Pty Ltd, trading as Parap Tavern, and NT Pubco Pty Ltd, a registered trade union. The employer applied for termination of the NT Pubco Pty Ltd Collective Agreement 2008 - 2013, asserting that the agreement was no longer appropriate due to significant changes in the industry and the employer's business operations. The union contested the application, arguing that the agreement remained suitable and that any changes should be negotiated through the collective bargaining process.

The central legal issue for the Commission to resolve was whether the employer had demonstrated that the collective agreement was no longer appropriate, warranting its termination. This required an assessment of the employer's evidence concerning the changed circumstances, the impact of those changes on the agreement's provisions, and whether the changes were of such magnitude that the agreement could no longer serve its intended purpose. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider the union's arguments regarding the continued suitability of the agreement and the appropriateness of negotiating any changes.

The Fair Work Commission found that the employer had not met the threshold for terminating the collective agreement. The Commission emphasised that termination should only be granted in exceptional circumstances where the changed conditions were significant enough to render the agreement inappropriate. The evidence presented did not sufficiently demonstrate that the changes were so substantial that they rendered the agreement unworkable or ineffective. The Commission also considered the importance of maintaining stability and predictability in workplace relations, which is often achieved through the operation of a collective agreement. Consequently, the application for termination was dismissed.

No final orders were made in the text provided.

Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group Pty Ltd T/A Parap Tavern

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established