DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Limited T/A Broadspectrum
(AG2020/3294)

BROADSPECTRUM MOBIL ALTONA REFINERY BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 27 NOVEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Broadspectrum Mobil Altona Refinery Building and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Broadspectrum Mobil Altona Refinery Building and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Limited T/A Broadspectrum. 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] I note that Clauses 16, 33, 34, 9 are inconsistent with the National Employment Standards. Given the National Employment Standards precedence clause at clause 5(c) of the agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail.

[4] The Agreement lodged contained references to the incorrect relevant Award that would otherwise apply to the employees. On the 26 November 2020, the Applicant filed an amended Agreement, removing the incorrect references, pursuant to s.586 of the Act. I am satisfied that the correction should be made and it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

[5] The Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime, and Energy 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.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 December 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Limited T/A Broadspectrum applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for approval of the Broadspectrum Mobil Altona Refinery Building and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2020. The company sought to have the agreement certified as a single-employer enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The FWC's role was to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for approval and certification.

The legal issues before the FWC were whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the requirements of the Act and whether it contained the necessary provisions for a single-employer enterprise agreement. The FWC had to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, the terms and conditions were fair and reasonable, and whether the agreement contained the mandatory provisions required by the Act.

After hearing submissions from both parties, the FWC found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and employees, and that the terms and conditions were fair and reasonable. The FWC also found that the agreement contained the mandatory provisions required by the Act. The FWC approved the agreement and certified it as a single-employer enterprise agreement under the Act.

The FWC made an order approving the Broadspectrum Mobil Altona Refinery Building and Construction Enterprise Agreement 2020 as a single-employer enterprise agreement. The agreement was to be registered on the Register of Approved Enterprise Agreements, and the certification was to be effective from the date of the FWC's decision.

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Limited T/A Broadspectrum

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established