DECISION

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

Buderim Community Kindergarten and Preschool
(AG2015/327)

BUDERIM COMMUNITY KINDERGARTEN & PRESCHOOL EARLY CHILDHOOD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 4 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Buderim Community Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Buderim Community Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Buderim Community Kindergarten & Preschool.

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

[3] The Independent Education Union of Australia, 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, will operate from 11 March 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Buderim Community Kindergarten and Preschool is the applicant seeking the approval of the Buderim Community Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Enterprise Agreement 2015. The respondent is the Queensland Department of Education. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where the applicant argued that the proposed agreement should be certified as a single-employer agreement, applicable to all employees within the kindergarten and preschool sector. The respondent contested this, asserting that the agreement should not be approved as it failed to comply with certain legal standards.

The legal issues before the court encompassed whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, if it was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether it had been appropriately negotiated. The court also needed to determine if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, and whether it met the necessary criteria for certification as a single-employer agreement.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission held that the proposed agreement was indeed a genuine enterprise agreement and was consistent with the Fair Work Act. The court found that the agreement had been appropriately negotiated and was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission also determined that the agreement satisfied the requirements for certification as a single-employer agreement. Therefore, the application for approval of the Buderim Community Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Enterprise Agreement 2015 was successful. The court certified the agreement as a single-employer agreement, effective from the date of the decision.

Buderim Community Kindergarten and Preschool

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established