Australian Red Cross Blood Service

[2013] FWCA 1913

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Red Cross Blood Service
(AG2013/505)

AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS BLOOD SERVICE NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 2013

Health and welfare services
VICE PRESIDENT WATSON	SYDNEY, 27 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Nurses Enterprise Agreement Australian Capital Territory 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Australian Red Cross Blood Service Nurses Enterprise Agreement Australian Capital Territory 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Australian Nursing Federation, 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 the organisations.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 27 March 2013 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 3 April 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2014.

VICE PRESIDENT WATSON

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) applied for the approval of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) 2013 Nurses Enterprise Agreement. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Health Services Union (HSU) were registered as the bargaining agents for the employees. The dispute centred around the approval of this enterprise agreement, specifically whether it met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, including whether it was made in good faith and whether it met the 'better off overall test'. The court had to determine if the agreement provided a fair and better outcome for the employees than the applicable award or safety net. Additionally, the court had to examine whether the agreement contained all the required terms and whether it was made in accordance with the procedural requirements set out in the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement was made in good faith and that it met the 'better off overall test'. The commission considered that the agreement provided a fair outcome for the employees and that it contained all the required terms. The commission also found that the agreement was made in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act. The application for approval of the enterprise agreement was subsequently approved, and the agreement was registered. The commission ordered that the Australian Capital Territory 2013 Nurses Enterprise Agreement be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established