City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd. Summary

[2025] FWCA 1389 [Note: a correction has been issued to this document]

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd.

(AG2025/879)

CITY CLEANING SERVICES (AUS) PTD LTD – CLEANING AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Gardening services
COMMISSIONER CONNOLLY	MELBOURNE, 28 APRIL 2025

Application for approval of the City Cleaning Services (Asus) Ptd Ltd – Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2025.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the City Cleaning Services (Aus) Ptd Ltd – Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd. (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 4 April 2025.

The notification time for the Agreement under s.173(2) was 6 November 2024 and the Agreement was made on 17 March 2025. Accordingly, the genuine agreement requirements the Agreement is to be assessed under are those applying after 6 June 2023 and the better off overall test (BOOT) is that applying on and from 6 June 2023. [1]

On 15 April 2025, the Employer was invited to address aspects of the Agreement including through the provision of an undertaking.

There are two National Employment Standards (NES) issues that require comment:

Public Holiday substitution: Clause 40 provides for public holiday substitution between the Employer and the majority of employees. Section 115(4) provides for substitution between the employer and individual employee only.
Termination (deductions): Clause 46.1 provides that any amounts owing by an employee to the employer may be deducted with the employees’ written consent from any amounts owed by the employer to the employee upon termination of the employee’s employment. This deduction may be at odds with the payment of NES entitlements on termination.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings, dated 22 April 2025, and a copy is attached in Annexure A. A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representative(s), and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representative(s) did not express any view on the undertaking.

I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertaking will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement, thus appearing to meet the requirements of s.190(3). The undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, 190, 193 and 193A of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days after the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 31 December 2029.

COMMISSIONER

ANNEXURE A

[1] The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) made a number of changes to enterprise agreement approval processes in Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act. Those changes broadly commenced operation on 6 June 2023, subject to various transitional arrangements that included those to effect described above.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd was before the Fair Work Commission, where the company sought approval of a new enterprise agreement. The agreement, titled the Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2025, was proposed as a means to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for employees within the company. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009 to be formally approved and registered.

The key legal issues for the Commission to address were whether the agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements stipulated by the Act. Procedurally, the Commission needed to confirm that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and that the process followed was fair and transparent. Substantively, the agreement had to ensure that it did not disadvantage employees unjustifiably and had to cover all mandatory terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act.

In examining these issues, the Commission assessed the negotiation process, scrutinising evidence provided by the company to ensure that the agreement was indeed the result of genuine bargaining. The Commission also evaluated the contents of the agreement against the mandatory terms and conditions set out in the Act, ensuring that employees' rights and protections were not compromised. The agreement was found to meet all necessary criteria, as it was negotiated fairly, contained no terms that unjustifiably disadvantaged employees, and adhered to all mandatory provisions. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement and ordered its registration.

The Fair Work Commission's final order was that the Cleaning and Grounds Maintenance Enterprise Agreement 2025 be approved and registered, effective from the date of the decision. This outcome ensured that the agreement would legally govern the employment terms and conditions for the employees of City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd, providing a clear framework for their working relationship moving forward.

City Cleaning Services (Aus) Pty Ltd.

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