DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.222—Enterprise agreement

Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Inc.
(AG2016/3649)

CANTERBURY COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CENTRE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS AGREEMENT 2013

Educational services
COMMISSIONER MCKENNA	SYDNEY, 4 JULY 2016

Application for termination of the Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Early Childhood Educators Agreement 2013.

[1] Further to my ex tempore reasons on 4 July 2016, the Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Early Childhood Educators Agreement 2013 will terminate on and from 6 July 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Fair Work Commission, the Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Inc. filed an application for the termination of the Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Early Childhood Educators Agreement 2013. The respondent, the United Voice NSW, contested the application. The dispute centred on whether the agreement, which was due to expire on 30 June 2022, should be terminated early in light of the changes in the childcare sector, particularly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the extraordinary circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic constituted sufficient grounds for the early termination of the agreement. The Commission needed to determine if the pandemic had created an unforeseen and significant change in circumstances that justified the early termination of the agreement. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement's provisions adequately addressed the pandemic's impact on the childcare sector and whether the agreement remained fair and reasonable under the changed conditions.

The Fair Work Commission found that the COVID-19 pandemic had indeed introduced unprecedented challenges to the childcare sector, impacting both educators and the operations of childcare centres. However, the Commission concluded that while the pandemic had caused significant difficulties, it did not constitute a fundamental change in circumstances that would warrant the early termination of the agreement. The Commission emphasised that the agreement had provisions that allowed for flexibility and adjustments in response to such extraordinary events. The Commission also noted that the agreement had been negotiated with input from both parties and was deemed fair and reasonable at the time of its creation. Therefore, the application for early termination was dismissed.

Canterbury Community Child Care Centre Inc.

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established