Boral Resources (QLD) Pty Limited T/A Boral

[2022] FWCA 2026

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Boral Resources (QLD) Pty Limited T/A Boral

(AG2022/1603)

Boral Concrete (QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2021

Cement and concrete products
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 22 JUNE 2022

Application for approval of the Boral Concrete (QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2021

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Boral Concrete (QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Boral Resources (QLD) Pty Limited T/A Boral (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Noting clause 6 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES in the Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration supporting approval of the Agreement and giving 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 AWU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Boral Resources (QLD) Pty Limited, trading as Boral, which applied for the approval of the Boral Concrete (QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2021. The application was lodged in the Fair Work Commission, where the nature of the dispute centred around whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement sought to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for employees within Boral’s concrete operations in Queensland.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set forth by the Fair Work Act. Procedurally, the court needed to determine if the agreement was certified as "no disadvantage" by the Fair Work Commission, which required a majority of employees covered by the agreement to vote in favour. Substantively, the court had to examine whether the agreement contained all the prescribed terms, was free from prohibited content, and did not disadvantage employees relative to their previous conditions of employment.

The court examined the certification process and found that a majority of the employees had indeed voted in favour of the agreement, thus satisfying the procedural requirement. The court then proceeded to analyse the substantive elements of the agreement, confirming that it included all the necessary prescribed terms and did not contain any prohibited content. Furthermore, the court determined that the agreement did not disadvantage employees relative to their previous conditions. Based on these findings, the court approved the Boral Concrete (QLD) Enterprise Agreement 2021.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established