Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 1685

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd
(AG2013/5509)

BACCHUS MARSH COACHES PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Passenger vehicle transport (non rail) industry
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 15 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The application for approval was lodged outside of the requisite time period for the making of the application. In all of the circumstances, I consider it fair to extend the period for making the application to 4 March 2013.

[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 Transport Workers’ Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. As required by s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 22 March 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

Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd, the respondent, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2012. The applicant, who is not named in the decision, sought to have the agreement disallowed on the basis that it failed to comply with the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was heard by Deputy President Harper, who was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the necessary standards for approval.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Enterprise Agreement 2012 complied with the requirements of section 230 of the Fair Work Act. This section mandates that an enterprise agreement must provide for, among other things, the terms and conditions of employment of employees, and must not contain terms that discriminate against employees on the basis of sex, marital status, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, or breastfeeding. The applicant argued that the agreement was deficient in this regard because it did not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and because it contained terms that could be interpreted as discriminatory against part-time and casual employees.

In examining the agreement, Deputy President Harper considered the purpose of the Fair Work Act, which is to provide a safety net of minimum entitlements, facilitate higher wages and conditions through enterprise bargaining, and promote high standards of employment through the law. The Deputy President concluded that while the agreement did not explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, it did not contain any terms that could be interpreted as discriminatory against part-time and casual employees. Furthermore, the Deputy President found that the agreement provided for the terms and conditions of employment of employees, and met the other requirements of section 230 of the Act. Accordingly, the Deputy President approved the agreement.

The final orders of the court were that the application for disallowance of the Enterprise Agreement 2012 be dismissed, and that the agreement be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

Bacchus Marsh Coaches Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established