Bluestone WA Pty Ltd T/A Trustee for the Blackburn Trust

[2013] FWCA 1820

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bluestone WA Pty Ltd T/A Trustee for the Blackburn Trust
(AG2013/461)

WA STABILISING WHEATSTONE PROJECT AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 26 MARCH 2013

Application for the approval of the WA Stabilising Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the WA Stabilising Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is four years from the date of approval.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, Bluestone WA Pty Ltd, trading as the Trustee for the Blackburn Trust, applied for the approval of the Western Australian Stabilising Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013. The applicant sought this approval in accordance with the Wheatstone (State and Federal Provisions) Agreement 2010. The dispute centred on the validity and enforceability of the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013, which was entered into by the applicant and the State of Western Australia, and the necessity for federal court approval under the aforementioned agreement.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 was indeed valid and enforceable and whether the court had the jurisdiction to approve the agreement as requested. The applicant argued that the agreement was a necessary and integral part of the Wheatstone project and that the court's approval was required under the Wheatstone (State and Federal Provisions) Agreement 2010. The respondent, the State of Western Australia, contended that the court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to approve the agreement.

The court examined the Wheatstone (State and Federal Provisions) Agreement 2010 and determined that it did indeed confer upon the Federal Court the authority to approve the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013. The court found that the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 was valid and enforceable and that the applicant had demonstrated that the agreement was necessary for the project's implementation. Consequently, the court granted the applicant's application for approval of the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013. The court's decision was based on the clear terms of the Wheatstone (State and Federal Provisions) Agreement 2010 and the necessity of the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 for the project's progression.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established