DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Bunnings Group Limited T/A Bunnings
(AG2018/5260)

THE BUNNINGS AND CFMEU FRAME AND TRUSS HALLAM COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2018

Retail industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 25 JANUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Bunnings and CFMEU Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Bunnings and CFMEU Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement 2018 (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 T/A Bunnings. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Construction, Forestry, Mining 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 1 February 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the 2018 Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement between Bunnings and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The CFMEU claimed that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission held that the CFMEU had not established that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The CFMEU appealed to the Federal Circuit Court, which found that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act and dismissed the application for approval. The Commission appealed to the Full Court of the Federal Court.

The central issue before the Court was whether the Fair Work Commission had correctly determined that the 2018 Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Court considered whether the Commission had applied the correct legal test in determining that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act, and whether the Commission's determination was supported by the evidence before it. The Court found that the Commission had applied the correct legal test and that its determination was supported by the evidence. The Court held that the CFMEU's arguments were not sufficient to establish that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the decision of the Commission.

The Full Court found that the Commission had applied the correct legal test in determining that the 2018 Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Court held that the CFMEU had not established that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The Court found that the CFMEU's arguments were not sufficient to establish that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The Court held that the Commission's determination was supported by the evidence before it and that the appeal should be dismissed.

The Full Court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Fair Work Commission that the 2018 Frame and Truss Hallam Collective Agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Court held that the CFMEU's arguments were not sufficient to establish that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Act. The Court found that the Commission's determination was supported by the evidence before it and that the appeal should be dismissed.

Bunnings Group Limited T/A Bunnings

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established