[2016] FWCA 79

The attached document replaces the document previously issued with the above code on 6 January 2016.

Agreement title year in preamble corrected to read 2016-2019.

Member Assist

On behalf of Commissioner Lee

Dated 6 January 2016

[2016] FWCA 79

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Clean Energy Regulator
(AG2015/7161)

CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2019

Commonwealth employment
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2016

Application for approval of the Clean Energy Regulator Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Clean Energy Regulator Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Clean Energy Regulator. The Agreement is a single 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 CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union 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 was approved on 6 January 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 January 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 January 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, the Clean Energy Regulator and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, applied for the approval of the Clean Energy Regulator Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019. The respondents, the Finance Sector Union of Australia and the Australian Services Union, opposed the approval. The applicants argued that the agreement met the statutory requirements and was in the interests of the employees, while the respondents claimed that it failed to meet certain statutory obligations and was not in the best interests of the employees.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements and was in the interests of the employees. This involved examining whether the agreement contained all the mandatory provisions required by the Public Sector Management Act 1994, whether it was negotiated in good faith and whether it was in the best interests of the employees. The court also had to consider whether the agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

The court found that the agreement met all the statutory requirements and was in the interests of the employees. The court held that the agreement contained all the mandatory provisions required by the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and that it was negotiated in good faith. The court also found that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees as it provided for reasonable terms and conditions of employment, including provisions for wages, leave, and other benefits. The court rejected the respondents' arguments that the agreement failed to meet certain statutory obligations and was not in the best interests of the employees.

The court approved the Clean Energy Regulator Enterprise Agreement 2016-2019 and ordered that it be registered with the Fair Work Commission. The court also ordered that the applicants and respondents bear their own costs of the application.

Clean Energy Regulator

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established