Boandik Lodge Inc

[2013] FWCA 3042

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Boandik Lodge Inc
(AG2013/1120)

BOANDIK LODGE INC NURSING EMPLOYEES & ANF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 14 MAY 2013

Application for approval of the Boandik Lodge Inc Nursing Employees & ANF Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boandik Lodge Inc Nursing Employees & ANF Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Boandik Lodge Inc. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Nursing Federation, 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) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 May 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the Boandik Lodge Inc Nursing Employees & ANF Enterprise Agreement 2012. The applicant, Boandik Lodge Inc, sought to have the agreement, which had been negotiated between the employer and the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval and if it provided fair terms and conditions for the nursing employees.

The legal issues the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties, if it provided for the minimum entitlements as required by the Fair Work Act, and if it contained any terms that were considered to be contrary to the public interest. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement included appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes and if it adequately protected the rights of the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and contained all the required minimum entitlements. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees, and that it did not contain any terms that were contrary to the public interest. The Commission also noted that the agreement included appropriate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes and that it provided adequate protection for the rights of the employees. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the Boandik Lodge Inc Nursing Employees & ANF Enterprise Agreement 2012.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Boandik Lodge Inc Nursing Employees & ANF Enterprise Agreement 2012 be approved as a registered agreement under section 180 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered on the date of the Commission's decision and would be in effect from the date specified within the agreement. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established