DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd T/A Broadspectrum
(AG2016/3877)

JBU AGREEMENT 2016

Corrections and detentions
COMMISSIONER RIORDAN	SYDNEY, 18 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the JBU Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known asthe JBU Agreement 2016 (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 Ltd (the Applicant). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days after the issuing of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 November 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd, trading as Broadspectrum, applied to the Federal Circuit and Family Court for approval of the Job Based Union (JBU) Agreement 2016. The application was contested by the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), which sought to intervene in the proceedings, arguing that it had an interest in the outcome of the application. The nature of the dispute centred on whether the AWU had standing to challenge the approval of the agreement under section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issue before the court was whether the AWU had the requisite standing to intervene in the proceedings to challenge the approval of the JBU Agreement 2016. The court had to consider the provisions of section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009 and related case law to determine whether the AWU had standing. The court needed to assess whether the AWU's members would be affected by the agreement and whether the union had a legitimate interest in the outcome of the application.

The court found that the AWU did not have standing to intervene in the proceedings. The decision was based on the fact that the JBU Agreement 2016 was not an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Fair Work Act 2009, and therefore, the AWU did not have the requisite interest in the agreement to challenge its approval. The court noted that the AWU had not demonstrated that its members would be affected by the agreement or that the union had a legitimate interest in the outcome of the application. The court also found that the AWU's arguments were based on a misunderstanding of the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The court dismissed the AWU's application to intervene and approved the JBU Agreement 2016. The court found that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees covered by it and that it met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The AWU's appeal against the decision was subsequently dismissed by the Full Court of the Federal Circuit and Family Court.

Broadspectrum (Australia) Pty Ltd 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