Boroondara City Council Summary

[2014] FWCA 3096

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Boroondara City Council

(AG2014/5804)

BOROONDARA CITY COUNCIL AGEING & DISABILITY SERVICES

EMPLOYEES’ AGREEMENT NO 7, 2013.

Local government administration

COMMISSIONER BISSETT

MELBOURNE, 13 MAY 2014

Application for approval of the Boroondara City Council Ageing & Disability Services
Employees’ Agreement No 7, 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the

Boroondara City Council Ageing & Disability Services Employees’ Agreement No 7, 2013

(the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Boroondara City Council. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from

20 May 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case before the Fair Work Commission, the Boroondara City Council sought approval for the Boroondara City Council Ageing & Disability Services Employees’ Agreement No 7, 2013, under section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This enterprise agreement was intended to cover employees within the council’s ageing and disability services department. The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, acting as a bargaining representative, had also notified its intent for the agreement to cover its members under section 183 of the Act.

The central legal issue before the Commissioner was whether the application for approval of the enterprise agreement met all the necessary requirements under sections 186, 187, and 188 of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commissioner needed to determine if the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in the Act, including the procedural fairness and the compliance with the "better off overall test." Additionally, the Commissioner had to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and if it met the other statutory criteria for approval.

Upon reviewing the application and the relevant sections of the Fair Work Act, Commissioner Bissett concluded that all the requirements for approval had been satisfied. The Commissioner noted that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and that the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union had notified its intention for the agreement to cover its members. The Commissioner also confirmed that the agreement met the better off overall test, ensuring that the employees would be better off under the new agreement compared to their previous conditions. Consequently, the Commissioner approved the agreement, which would commence on 20 May 2014, with a nominal expiry date of 30 June 2015.

Boroondara City Council

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established