Australian Workers’ Union

[2021] FWCA 7065

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Australian Workers’ Union
(AG2021/8632)

AWU AND FLOOD SHEARING CONTRACTORS (TASMANIAN SHEARING OPERATIONS) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT

Agricultural industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 10 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the AWU and Flood Shearing Contractors (Tasmanian Shearing Operations) Enterprise Agreement

[1] The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AWU and Flood Shearing Contractors (Tasmanian Shearing Operations) Enterprise Agreement (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[3] Pursuant to s 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The AWU, 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) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the AWU.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 10 December 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) filed an application for the approval of the AWU and Flood Shearing Contractors (Tasmanian Shearing Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The agreement was made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The AWU represents employees of Flood Shearing Contractors who operate shearing businesses in Tasmania. The Federal Court was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act to be approved.

The main legal issue the court needed to decide was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the Fair Work Act and, in particular, whether the agreement was made in good faith and for the purpose of creating an enterprise agreement. The AWU argued that the agreement was made in good faith and for the correct purpose. The Fair Work Commission, however, opposed the approval of the agreement on the basis that the agreement was not made in good faith and for the purpose of creating an enterprise agreement.

The court held that the agreement was made in good faith and for the purpose of creating an enterprise agreement. The court found that the AWU had acted reasonably in the negotiation process and that the agreement reflected a genuine attempt to reach an agreement. The court also found that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable and that the process of making the agreement was fair. The application for approval of the agreement was therefore allowed.

The court made an order approving the AWU and Flood Shearing Contractors (Tasmanian Shearing Operations) Enterprise Agreement 2014, effective from 1 July 2014. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would be binding on the parties for a period of five years. The AWU was also ordered to pay the costs of the application.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established