Bauer Foundations Australia Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 2761

The attached document replaces the document previously issued with the above code on 19 August 2025.

References to the document have been updated.

Chambers of Deputy President Bell.

Dated 20 August 2025

[2025] FWCA 2761

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bauer Foundations Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2025/2663)

BAUER FOUNDATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS PILING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2027

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BELL	MELBOURNE, 19 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of the BAUER FOUNDATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Piling Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the BAUER FOUNDATIONS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Piling Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Bauer Foundations Australia Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Having regard to the material contained in the application and filed in relation to it, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss. 186, 187, 188, 193 and 193A as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer. However, taking into account the factors in sections 186(3) and (3A), I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, 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 organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 19 August 2025 and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 August 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 July 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, the matter of Bauer Foundations Australia Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Piling Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027 was before the Court. The application before the Court was for the approval of the enterprise agreement, which had been negotiated between the employer and the union. The parties had reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered by the agreement, and were seeking the Court's approval to formalise the agreement. The legal issues that the Court had to decide were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it had been properly negotiated. The Court found that the agreement met the requirements of the Act, and that it had been properly negotiated. The Court noted that the agreement provided for a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and burdens between the parties, and that it had been negotiated in good faith. The Court also found that the agreement provided for a fair and reasonable process for the resolution of disputes, and that it contained appropriate mechanisms for the protection of workers' rights. The Court approved the agreement, and made orders formalising the agreement and setting out the terms and conditions of employment for the workers covered by the agreement.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established