DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bunnings Group Limited
(AG2016/4601)

BUNNINGS SYDNEY DISTRIBUTION CENTRE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Storage services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 29 AUGUST 2016

Application for approval of the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise 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 Bunnings Group Limited. 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] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 5 September 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Bunnings Group Limited, sought approval of the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2016. The respondent, Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, objected to the approval on the grounds that the agreement did not meet the requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issues before the commission were whether the agreement provided for the mandatory minimum entitlements and whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated. The commission had to determine if the agreement complied with the requirements for approval as set out in the Fair Work Act. The primary focus was on whether the agreement provided for terms and conditions of employment that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award and whether it had been negotiated in good faith.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement provided for all the mandatory minimum entitlements and was not less favourable than the applicable award. The commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, taking into account the evidence presented by both parties. The commission approved the agreement, noting that it met all the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Bunnings Sydney Distribution Centre Enterprise Agreement 2016, finding that it complied with all the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The agreement was deemed to be fair and reasonable, providing for the mandatory minimum entitlements and having been negotiated in good faith.

Bunnings Group Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established