Carrington Centennial Care Ltd trading as Carrington Summary

[2025] FWCA 2218

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.218A - application to vary an agreement to correct or amend errors, defects or irregularities

Carrington Centennial Care Ltd trading as Carrington

(AG2025/1940)

CARRINGTON ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 4 JULY 2025

Variation of enterprise agreement to correct or amend an obvious error, defect or irregularity pursuant to s 218A of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – application unopposed – application granted.

On 27 May 2025, the Carrington Enterprise Agreement 2025 (Enterprise Agreement) was approved by the Fair Work Commission (Commission).

On 19 June 2025, Carrington Centennial Care Ltd trading as Carrington (Carrington) filed an application under section 218A of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) to correct or amend an obvious error, defect or irregularity in the Enterprise Agreement.

Carrington seeks the following orders:

1.A variation to the undertaking to reflect the correct application of payment for casual employees working on public holidays (clause 22.9 of the Enterprise Agreement) and clause 19 the payment of overtime for casual employees when working on Public Holidays.
2.The approved Enterprise Agreement be reissued to have page 34 repositioned in the approved Enterprise Agreement. Currently the approved Enterprise Agreement shows page 34 between page 37 and 38.

I gave the HSU and the NSWNMA/ANMF an opportunity to be heard in relation to the application to vary the Enterprise Agreement. Neither the HSU nor the NSWNMA/ANMF took up the opportunity to be heard.

Based on the uncontested material before the Commission, I am satisfied that the following errors exist in the Enterprise Agreement:

The undertaking related to clause 22.9 contains an error in the application of payment for casual employees. Additionally, clause 19.1 lacks clarity on overtime rates for casual employees working on public holidays.
The pagination error, where page 34 is incorrectly positioned between pages 37 and 38, is an administrative defect affecting the clarity and structure of the approved Enterprise Agreement.

I am satisfied that these errors:

(a)are unintentional errors that were not identified until significantly after the Enterprise Agreement was approved;
(b)would have been corrected if the errors had been identified during the negotiation or approval process for the Enterprise Agreement;
(c)are not controversial between Carrington and the employees covered by the Enterprise Agreement; and
(d)are manifestly clear, such that an officious bystander would reply, “Of course” when asked if the amendments are appropriate.

For the reasons given, I have decided to exercise my discretion under s 218A of the Act to make the orders sought by Carrington. Attached is a revised version of the Agreement which has these errors rectified.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission concerned an application by Carrington Centennial Care Ltd, trading as Carrington, to vary the Carrington Enterprise Agreement 2025 (Enterprise Agreement). The application, filed under section 218A of the Fair Work Act 2009, sought to correct or amend errors, defects, or irregularities within the agreement. The errors identified included incorrect application of payment for casual employees working on public holidays, and a lack of clarity regarding overtime rates for such employees. Additionally, the application noted a pagination error in the approved Enterprise Agreement. The application was unopposed by the Health Services Union (HSU) and the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association/Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (NSWNMA/ANMF), which had opportunities to be heard but chose not to participate.

The central legal issue was whether the Fair Work Commission should exercise its discretion under section 218A of the Fair Work Act 2009 to correct or amend the Enterprise Agreement. The Commission had to determine if the identified errors were unintentional, would have been corrected had they been identified during negotiation or approval, and whether they were non-controversial and manifestly clear. The Commission found that the errors met all these criteria, as they were unintentional, would have been corrected if identified earlier, were not disputed between Carrington and the employees, and were apparent to any reasonable person.

Following the analysis, the Deputy President Saunders concluded that the Commission should exercise its discretion to make the orders sought by Carrington. The Deputy President was satisfied that the errors were clear and appropriate to correct. The approved Enterprise Agreement was varied to correct the payment for casual employees working on public holidays, clarify the payment of overtime for such employees, and correct the pagination error. A revised version of the Enterprise Agreement was attached to the decision, incorporating these corrections. This decision ensures that the Enterprise Agreement accurately reflects the intentions of the parties and maintains the integrity of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission granted the application and issued orders to vary the Carrington Enterprise Agreement 2025 to correct the specified errors. The approved Enterprise Agreement was reissued with the necessary amendments to clause 22.9 and clause 19.1, and the pagination error was rectified. The corrected Enterprise Agreement was attached to the decision, providing a clear and accurate document for all parties involved.

Carrington Centennial Care Ltd trading as Carrington

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established