DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Christian Schools Tasmania
(AG2018/6725)

CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS TASMANIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT (GENERAL STAFF) 2019

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	MELBOURNE, 3 APRIL 2019

Application for approval of the Christian Schools Tasmania Enterprise Agreement (General Staff) 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Christian Schools Tasmania Enterprise Agreement (General Staff) 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Christian Schools Tasmania. 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] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings.

[4] Subject to the Undertakings, 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.

[5] The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA) 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 10 April 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Christian Schools Tasmania, the Fair Work Commission was tasked with deciding whether to approve the Christian Schools Tasmania Enterprise Agreement (General Staff) 2019. The application for approval was brought forward by the employer, Christian Schools Tasmania, and the union involved was the Independent Education Union of Australia. The dispute centred on whether the proposed enterprise agreement, which included a range of terms and conditions for general staff, complied with the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement met the requirements for "better-off overall" and "no detriment" tests, which ensure that the agreement does not disadvantage employees in terms of their overall financial or non-financial conditions.

The legal issues that the court had to resolve involved interpreting the terms of the proposed agreement in light of the statutory requirements. The court had to consider whether the agreement provided a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees, ensuring that their overall financial and non-financial conditions were not adversely affected. The court also needed to assess whether the agreement met the "no detriment" test, which requires that employees are not worse off in terms of their working conditions, entitlements, or benefits under the new agreement compared to their previous conditions. The interpretation of these statutory provisions and their application to the specific terms of the agreement was central to the court's decision.

The court examined the proposed agreement in detail, assessing its provisions against the statutory criteria. It found that the agreement provided a fair and reasonable outcome for the employees, meeting the "better-off overall" test. The court concluded that employees would not be worse off financially or in terms of their non-financial conditions under the new agreement. Additionally, the court determined that the agreement satisfied the "no detriment" test, as employees would not experience any adverse effects on their working conditions, entitlements, or benefits. The court found that the proposed agreement was compliant with the Fair Work Act 2009 and approved the Christian Schools Tasmania Enterprise Agreement (General Staff) 2019.

Christian Schools Tasmania

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established