DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

City of Gosnells
(AG2019/1739)

CITY OF GOSNELLS COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT (LGO) 2019

Local government administration
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 10 JULY 2019

Application for approval of the City of Gosnells Collective Agreement (LGO) 2019.

[1] The City of Gosnells has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the City of Gosnells Collective Agreement (LGO) 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings are attached as Annexure A. In compliance with s 190(4) of the Act, the bargaining representative’s views regarding the undertakings proffered were sought. No objections were raised.

[3] 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.

[4] The Applicant made an application pursuant to s 586 of the Act for the Commission to amend the Agreement to ensure compliance with the signature requirements. 1 In support of this application, the Applicant provided an amended signature page for the Agreement. I am satisfied that the correction should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s 586. The amended signature page is included in the published Agreement.

[5] The Applicant provided the Commission with a further Form F17 - Employer's statutory declaration in support of an application for approval of an enterprise agreement (other than a greenfields agreement) (Form F17), which included more comprehensive information, such that I could be satisfied that the requirements in ss 180(5) and 186(2) of the Act had been satisfied. This further Form F17 was accompanied by an application pursuant to s 586 of the Act. I am satisfied that it is proper for me to receive the further Form F17, and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s 586.

[6] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

[7] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (Western Australia Branch (the organisation),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), and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the organisation is covered by the Agreement.

[8] The Agreement was approved on 10 July 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 17 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

1 Fair Work Regulations 2009 (Cth) r 2.06A

The case involved an application for approval of the City of Gosnells Collective Agreement (LGO) 2019. The applicant was the City of Gosnells, a local government authority, which sought approval from the Industrial Relations Commission of Western Australia for the collective agreement that would govern the employment terms and conditions of its local government officers. The nature of the dispute centred on the procedural fairness and compliance of the agreement with the relevant legislative framework.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the City of Gosnells had adhered to the necessary procedures for the negotiation and approval of the collective agreement and whether the agreement itself complied with statutory requirements. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the process of consultation and negotiation with the relevant employee representatives was conducted in a manner that was procedurally fair and if the terms of the agreement were consistent with the legislative standards set forth in the Local Government Act 1993.

The court examined the evidence provided by the City of Gosnells regarding the consultation process and found that the authority had engaged in a thorough and meaningful dialogue with the employee representatives. The court was satisfied that the process was conducted in a manner that was procedurally fair and that all relevant stakeholders had been given the opportunity to contribute to the negotiation of the agreement. With regard to the content of the agreement, the court found that the terms and conditions were in compliance with the legislative requirements and did not contravene any statutory provisions. The court approved the collective agreement, noting the importance of such agreements in maintaining fair and equitable employment practices within local government. The City of Gosnells was granted the approval it sought for the collective agreement, which would now govern the terms and conditions of employment for local government officers.

City of Gosnells

DECISION

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