DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a multi-enterprise agreement

Catholic Commission for Employment Relations
(AG2015/7467)

NSW CATHOLIC INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS (TEACHERS) MULTI-ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2016

Educational services
VICE PRESIDENT CATANZARITI	MELBOURNE, 18 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the NSW Catholic Independent Schools (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2015-2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the NSW Catholic Independent Schools (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2015-2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Catholic Commission for Employment Relations. The agreement is a multi-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] The Independent Education Union of Australia, 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 25 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2016.

VICE PRESIDENT

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the New South Wales Catholic Independent Schools (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2015-2016. The applicants were the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER) and the New South Wales Catholic Independent Schools (NWCISC), while the respondents were the Australian Education Union, Catholic Education Sydney, Catholic Education Parramatta, and Catholic Education Diocese of Broken Bay. The primary dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement complied with the necessary legislative standards for approval.

The legal issues that the Fair Work Commission had to determine included whether the agreement met the formal requirements for approval as stipulated in the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically sections 198 and 199. The court also had to consider whether the agreement complied with the substantive unfair dismissal provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009, as well as whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it provided for the necessary minimum entitlements. The fairness and appropriateness of the agreement's terms and conditions for the employees it covered were also scrutinised.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement satisfied all formal requirements for approval and was made in good faith. The commission determined that the agreement provided for the necessary minimum entitlements and complied with the substantive unfair dismissal provisions. The commission also held that the agreement was fair and appropriate, taking into account the specific circumstances of the employees it covered. Therefore, the application for approval was granted. The final orders included the approval of the agreement, effective from the date of the decision.

Catholic Commission for Employment Relations

DECISION

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