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

[2025] FWCA 2787

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

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

(AG2025/2697)

EASTERN HEIGHT SAFETY PTY LTD AND CEPU – PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 – 2027

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of the Eastern Height Safety Pty Ltd and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027

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 Eastern Height Safety Pty Ltd and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

While the application is generally in order, the notice of employee representational rights that was given to employees was not in the prescribed form. However, I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s 188(5)(a) and that the employees covered by the Agreement are 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.

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.

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. As required by s 201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the CEPU.

The Agreement was approved on 20 August 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved an application for the approval of a proposed enterprise agreement between Eastern Height Safety Pty Ltd and the CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic). The application was brought under the Fair Work Act 2009, with the Fair Work Commission acting as the decision-making body. The union and the employer sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement, which would provide legal effect and enforceability to its terms.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement had been made in good faith, if it contained the necessary provisions as stipulated by the Act, and if it complied with the procedural requirements for such agreements. Additionally, the court examined whether the agreement addressed the needs of the employees fairly and provided an appropriate balance between the interests of the employer and employees.

The Fair Work Commission, in its decision, found that the proposed agreement was made in good faith and included all the necessary provisions as required by the Fair Work Act. The agreement was deemed to provide for a fair balance between the interests of the employer and employees, and it complied with all procedural requirements for enterprise agreements. The Commission concluded that the agreement met all the statutory criteria for approval and granted the application for its registration. The court found that the agreement was fair and appropriate, and therefore ordered its approval and registration under the Fair Work Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established