DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway
(AG2019/3883)

CLEANAWAY LIQUID WASTE CAIRNS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 28 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Cleanaway Liquid Waste Cairns Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] Application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Cleanaway Liquid Waste Cairns Enterprise Agreement 2019. (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway.

[2] Written undertakings have been given in accordance with s.190 of the Act. 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. The undertakings are taken to be terms of the Agreement.

[3] With the undertakings referred to above, 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 November 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 11 October 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd, trading as Cleanaway, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Cleanaway Liquid Waste Cairns Enterprise Agreement 2019. The agreement was to cover employees working in the liquid waste industry in Cairns. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which requires certain enterprise agreements to be "simple, fair and portable" to be approved.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for being "simple, fair and portable". The Commission needed to determine if the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly sections 234 and 235, which outline the criteria for approval of enterprise agreements. These criteria include that the agreement must be free from prohibited content, must not be discriminatory, and must not undermine the ability of employees to take protected industrial action.

The Commission found that the agreement was simple, fair and portable, and thus met the statutory requirements for approval. The agreement was straightforward and easy to understand, without unnecessary complexity. It provided fair terms and conditions of employment, ensuring that employees were not disadvantaged. Furthermore, the agreement was portable, meaning it could be applied to other employers and employees in similar circumstances without significant modification. Given these findings, the Commission approved the Cleanaway Liquid Waste Cairns Enterprise Agreement 2019.

No further orders were made by the Commission as the agreement was approved in its entirety.

Cleanaway Operations Pty Ltd T/A Cleanaway

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established