DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Commercial Aquatics Australia (WA) Pty Ltd t/a Commercial Aquatics Australia
(AG2016/940)

COMMERCIAL AQUATICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AGREEMENT 2016

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 23 MAY 2016

Application for approval of the Commercial Aquatics Australia Pty Ltd Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Commercial Aquatics Australia Pty Ltd Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Commercial Aquatics Australia (WA) Pty Ltd t/a Commercial Aquatics Australia. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

[3] Subject to 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in Section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 23 May 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 30 May 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 May 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involves Commercial Aquatics Australia (WA) Pty Ltd, trading as Commercial Aquatics Australia, and the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The matter before the FWC was an application for the approval of the Commercial Aquatics Australia Pty Ltd Agreement 2016, which was intended to cover the employees of the company. The primary dispute centred on the terms and conditions outlined in the proposed enterprise agreement and whether these terms met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues that the FWC had to address included whether the proposed agreement provided for a fair and reasonable terms of employment, and whether it complied with the various statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the FWC had to consider if the agreement met the 'better off overall test', which requires that employees be no worse off financially and have at least one term that is better than the applicable award or registered agreement. Additionally, the FWC needed to ensure that the agreement did not discriminate against any particular group of employees.

The FWC concluded that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable and met the statutory requirements. The FWC found that the agreement provided for better terms and conditions than the applicable award and ensured that employees were not worse off overall. The FWC also noted that the agreement did not contain any discriminatory terms. Consequently, the FWC approved the Commercial Aquatics Australia Pty Ltd Agreement 2016.

The FWC’s decision was based on a detailed analysis of the proposed agreement's terms and its compliance with the statutory requirements. The FWC found that the agreement was comprehensive and provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment. The FWC also noted that the agreement included provisions for dispute resolution, which was an additional factor in favour of its approval. Therefore, the FWC approved the agreement, allowing it to come into effect as a registered enterprise agreement.

Commercial Aquatics Australia (WA) Pty Ltd t/a Commercial Aquatics Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established