Boneham Aged Care Services Inc T/A Boneham Aged Care Services Summary

[2025] FWCA 549

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Boneham Aged Care Services Inc T/A Boneham Aged Care Services

(AG2025/166)

BONEHAM AGED CARE SERVICES INC NURSING EMPLOYEES (AGED CARE) & ANMF-SA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT O’NEILL	MELBOURNE, 11 FEBRUARY 2025

Application for approval of the Boneham Aged Care Services Inc Nursing Employees (Aged Care) & ANMF-SA Enterprise Agreement 2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boneham Aged Care Services Inc Nursing Employees (Aged Care) & ANMF-SA Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Boneham Aged Care Services Inc T/A Boneham Aged Care Services. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Representational Rights (NERR) distributed to employees is a pre-6 June 2023 reforms version. However, I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor technical departure from the NERR requirements under s.174 of the Act and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(5) of the Act.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) 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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 18 February 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Boneham Aged Care Services Inc T/A Boneham Aged Care Services, a provider of aged care services, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of their enterprise agreement with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, South Australia Branch. The proposed agreement, titled the Boneham Aged Care Services Inc Nursing Employees (Aged Care) & ANMF-SA Enterprise Agreement 2023, sought to set out the terms and conditions of employment for registered nurses and enrolled nurses employed by the applicant. The applicant argued that the agreement was fair and reasonable, meeting the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval as a low paid industry award, whether the agreement provided for pay and conditions that were no worse off financially or better off financially than the applicable low paid industry award, and whether the agreement contained any provisions that were contrary to the public interest or not in the best interests of the employees. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement provided for procedural fairness and other minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act.

After reviewing the evidence and submissions from both parties, the Commission found that the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval. The Commission determined that the agreement provided for pay and conditions that were no worse off financially or better off financially than the applicable low paid industry award, and that the agreement contained no provisions that were contrary to the public interest or not in the best interests of the employees. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for procedural fairness and other minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act. Accordingly, the Commission approved the proposed agreement as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Boneham Aged Care Services Inc Nursing Employees (Aged Care) & ANMF-SA Enterprise Agreement 2023 be approved and registered as a registered agreement under section 173 of the Fair Work Act. The agreement is to be registered on the Register of Approved Agreements maintained by the Commission and will apply to registered nurses and enrolled nurses employed by the applicant from 1 July 2023. The applicant and the union are required to provide a copy of the approved agreement to the Commission within 28 days of the decision.

Boneham Aged Care Services Inc T/A Boneham Aged Care Services

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established