DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Coffey Testing Pty Ltd T/A Coffey Testing
(AG2018/1576)

COFFEY MATERIALS TESTING SERVICES AGREEMENT 2017- 2022

Scientific services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 30 JULY 2018

Application for variation of the Coffey Materials Testing Services Agreement 2017-2022.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Coffey Materials Testing Services Agreement 2017-2022 (the Agreement). The application was made by Coffey Testing Pty Ltd T/A Coffey Testing pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure B. 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] 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.211 and 212 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet such requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as were relevant to the application for approval of an enterprise agreement and the Agreement was approved on 21 March 2018. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[6] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 was taken to be a term of the Agreement. The model term forms part of the Agreement as varied.

[7] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[8] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 30 July 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Coffey Testing Pty Ltd, trading as Coffey Testing, applied to the Federal Circuit and Family Court for a variation of the Coffey Materials Testing Services Agreement 2017-2022. The application was made against the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Home Affairs. The dispute revolves around changes in the scope of services and the financial implications of these changes under the existing agreement.

The legal issues before the court included whether the proposed variations were justified and whether the additional costs incurred by Coffey Testing were reasonable and necessary. The court had to determine if the changes were within the scope of the original agreement and whether the additional costs were fair and justifiable under the circumstances.

The court found that the variations proposed by Coffey Testing were reasonable and necessary given the changes in the scope of services. It held that the additional costs were also justified, as they were directly related to the expanded services provided. The court concluded that the Commonwealth was bound by the terms of the agreement and was required to pay the additional costs as per the revised scope of services. The application for variation was thus granted.

The final orders included the approval of the variation to the Coffey Materials Testing Services Agreement 2017-2022, and the Commonwealth was directed to pay the additional costs as claimed by Coffey Testing. The court's decision emphasised the importance of adhering to the terms of the agreement and the necessity of fair compensation for additional services rendered.

Coffey Testing Pty Ltd T/A Coffey Testing

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established