Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School T/A Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School

[2024] FWCA 4558

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School T/A Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School

(AG2024/4591)

CAMBERWELL ANGLICAN GIRLS’ GRAMMAR SCHOOL (TEACHERS) AGREEMENT 2024

Educational services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT O’NEILL	MELBOURNE, 19 DECEMBER 2024

Application for approval of the Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (Teachers) Agreement 2024

Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School T/A Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (Teachers) Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and is a single enterprise agreement.

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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

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.

The Independent Education 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 December 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2026.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the recent case of Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School T/A Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, the parties involved in the dispute were the school, represented by its governing body, and its teaching staff, represented by the relevant union. The primary nature of the dispute was the school's application to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (Teachers) Agreement 2024. The case was heard and determined in the Fair Work Commission of Australia.

The legal issues the court was required to decide centred around whether the proposed agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. This included assessing whether the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay, leave entitlements, and other conditions of employment that were no less favourable than the relevant modern award. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was consistent with the public interest and if it was made in good faith and without coercion.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were at least as favourable as those contained in the relevant modern award. Additionally, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith and without coercion, and that it was consistent with the public interest. The Commission therefore approved the Camberwell Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (Teachers) Agreement 2024.

The final orders of the Commission were that the agreement be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, effective from the date of the Commission's decision. The agreement will now apply to all teachers employed by the school, providing a clear and agreed framework for their terms and conditions of employment.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established