CME Group Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 2749

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

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

CME Group Pty Ltd

(AG2025/2249)

CME RESOURCES PTY LTD SINGLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER THORNTON	ADELAIDE, 18 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of the CME Resources Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CME Resources Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by CME Group Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) provided to the employees was not in the prescribed form. It is in the form as prescribed prior to 6 June 2023. I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the slight departure from the NERR requirements in s. 174(1)(A)(c) and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188 of the Act and exercise the discretion conferred by section 188(5) of the Act to disregard the minor technical error.

Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the CEPU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act from 25 August 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 August 2029.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application for the approval of the CME Resources Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2024 by the Fair Work Commission. The applicant, CME Group Pty Ltd, sought the approval of the proposed agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents, represented by the Australian Workers' Union, objected to the proposed agreement on several grounds, including concerns about the terms related to wages, working conditions, and other employment-related matters. The Fair Work Commission was required to assess the fairness of the proposed agreement and determine whether it met the statutory criteria for approval.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable, and whether it met the criteria set out in section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission had to consider the balance of the agreement, its effect on employees, and whether it contained terms that were unfair or unreasonable. The respondents argued that the proposed agreement did not adequately protect the rights and interests of employees, particularly regarding wages and working conditions. The Commission had to weigh these objections against the arguments presented by the applicant, which maintained that the agreement was fair and balanced.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable. The Commission found that the terms of the agreement provided for fair and equitable treatment of employees, and that the provisions were not unfair or unreasonable. The Commission considered the overall balance of the agreement, including the wages and conditions offered, and concluded that the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval. The Commission also noted the absence of significant objections from the majority of employees, which supported the view that the agreement was acceptable to the workforce.

The Fair Work Commission approved the CME Resources Pty Ltd Single Enterprise Agreement 2024, subject to the conditions and limitations specified in the decision. The approval was granted on the basis that the agreement provided for fair and equitable terms for employees and met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents' objections were not upheld, and the agreement came into effect as approved by the Commission.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established