DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Border Express Pty Ltd
(AG2021/6336)

BORDER EXPRESS PTY LTD TRANSPORT EMPLOYEES ALBURY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Road transport industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 6 AUGUST 2021

Application for approval of the Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees Albury Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Border Express Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Border Express Pty Ltd Transport Employees Albury Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The employer has provided a written undertaking, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 6 August 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 13 August 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 August 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE512639 PR732541>
Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Border Express Pty Ltd was before the Fair Work Commission, where the applicant, Border Express, sought approval of the Transport Employees Albury Enterprise Agreement 2021. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for the transport employees in Albury, including matters such as wages, working hours, leave provisions, and other employment-related issues. The respondent to the application was the Fair Work Commission, acting in its capacity to oversee and approve enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness in the agreement's formation, and whether the agreement met the "better off overall test" which ensures that employees are not worse off financially as a result of the agreement compared to their previous conditions. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement included all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act and if it was in the interests of employees and employers.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the process by which the agreement was negotiated, the fairness of the terms, and the impact of the agreement on the employees. The Commission noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the employees had been adequately represented. The Commission further found that the agreement met the better off overall test, as employees were not worse off under the new agreement. Additionally, the Commission determined that the agreement included all mandatory terms and that it was in the interests of both employees and employers. Consequently, the Commission approved the Transport Employees Albury Enterprise Agreement 2021.

Border Express Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established