Australian Workers' Union v BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd

The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) took BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd to court over alleged contraventions of section 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The AWU claimed that BlueScope Steel failed to make superannuation contributions as required by certain clauses of the enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Commission had previously found that BlueScope Steel contravened the terms of the agreement by not making these contributions. The primary issue before the court was whether an enterprise agreement could give rise to a contravention of section 50 of the Fair Work Act, and if so, whether such contraventions had occurred in this case.

The court considered whether a term of an enterprise agreement must be a source of legal obligation to make a contravention of section 50 of the Fair Work Act. It determined that appropriately drafted declaratory relief serves to address the seriousness of such contraventions. The court concluded that clauses such as clause 7.2 of the 2012 Agreement are terms capable of giving rise to a contravention of section 50 of the Fair Work Act. The court found that contraventions had occurred because superannuation contributions should have been made but were not. Specifically, these contributions should have been made in respect of the "additional hours component" and the "public holidays component" of the annualised salary, and the "public holidays component" of the aggregate salary.

The court ordered that the parties bring in Short Minutes of Orders to give effect to these reasons within 14 days. This was to ensure that the necessary steps were taken to address the contraventions found by the court. The court's decision provided clarity on the legal obligations arising from enterprise agreements and reinforced the importance of compliance with both enterprise agreements and the Fair Work Act.