Australian Red Cross Blood Service

[2013] FWCA 6124

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Red Cross Blood Service
(AG2013/2179)

AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICE MEDICAL OFFICERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2013

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 27 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Medical Officers Enterprise Agreement Western Australia 2013.

[1] On 1 August 2013 the Australian Red Cross Blood Service made an application for approval of Australian Red Cross Blood Service Medical Officers Enterprise Agreement Western Australia 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth.) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

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

[4] The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (Western Australian Branch) and the Australian Medical Association (WA) Incorporated, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 3 September 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, sought approval of the 2013 enterprise agreement for its medical officers in Western Australia. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission (FWC), the body responsible for approving enterprise agreements under Australian labour law. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in terms of the fairness and efficiency of the terms and conditions it established.

The key legal issues addressed by the FWC were whether the agreement met the "no disadvantage test" and the "better off overall test." The "no disadvantage test" required the FWC to determine if the agreement would place employees who were party to the agreement, or who were covered by it, worse off than they would be under their applicable award or other industrial instrument. The "better off overall test" required the FWC to assess whether the agreement would provide employees with a minimum entitlement of 90% of the relevant national minimum wage. Additionally, the FWC had to consider the efficiency, flexibility, and simplicity of the proposed agreement.

The FWC found that the proposed agreement did not disadvantage employees and met both the no-disadvantage and better-off-overall tests. The FWC considered that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable set of terms and conditions, ensuring that employees were not worse off and were better off overall. The FWC also noted the efficiency, flexibility, and simplicity of the agreement, concluding that it was in the best interests of the employees. Therefore, the FWC approved the agreement.

The FWC's approval of the agreement means that the terms and conditions set out in the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Medical Officers Enterprise Agreement Western Australia 2013 are now legally binding on the parties. This decision sets a precedent for future enterprise agreements within the organisation and reinforces the FWC's role in ensuring fair and reasonable terms for employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established