DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia
(AG2021/6285)

COMMTECH COMMISSIONING TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD AND CEPU - PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2023

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 28 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the CommTech Commissioning Technologies Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[1] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CommTech Commissioning Technologies Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[3] The CEPU, 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) and based on its declaration, I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 28 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 4 August 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, on behalf of the CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic), for approval of the CommTech Commissioning Technologies Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The dispute centred on the procedural fairness of the application process, with the respondent, CommTech, contending that it had not been given adequate opportunity to be heard. The Commission, led by Deputy President J R M Bennett, was tasked with resolving this procedural challenge to the application for approval of the enterprise agreement.

The legal issues the Commission had to decide revolved around the procedural fairness of the application process and whether CommTech had been given a fair opportunity to present its case. The Commission examined the fairness of the process in light of the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, considering whether the applicant had complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. Key to the determination was whether the Commission had acted in a manner that was procedurally fair and whether the respondent's concerns about the process had been adequately addressed.

The Commission concluded that the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was procedurally fair. It found that the applicant had provided sufficient information for the Commission to make an informed decision and that the respondent had been given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the application. The Commission rejected CommTech's contention that it had not been given adequate opportunity to be heard, holding that the procedural fairness requirements had been met. Consequently, the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was approved.

The final orders of the Commission were that the application for approval of the CommTech Commissioning Technologies Pty Ltd and CEPU - Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 be approved, and that the enterprise agreement be registered with effect from the date of the decision. The Commission's determination underscored the importance of procedural fairness in enterprise agreement approval processes and provided guidance on the procedural requirements that must be satisfied.

Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established