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

[2025] FWCA 1917

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

(AG2025/1684)

AIR H20 PTY LTD AND CEPU – PLUMBING DIVISION (VIC) PLUMBING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 – 2027

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 10 JUNE 2025

Application for approval of the AIR H20 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 AIR H20 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 10 June 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, on behalf of the CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic), sought approval of the AIR H20 Pty Ltd and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027. AIR H20 Pty Ltd, represented by its directors, opposed the application. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it met the necessary criteria for approval by the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission was the court responsible for evaluating the agreement and deciding on its approval.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, if it complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, and whether it was made in good faith and without coercion. Additionally, the court had to determine if the agreement covered the appropriate bargaining unit and if it contained all the necessary terms and conditions for a valid enterprise agreement. The court also considered whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, as it was made in good faith and without coercion. The agreement met all the necessary requirements under the Fair Work Act, including covering the appropriate bargaining unit and containing all the necessary terms and conditions for a valid enterprise agreement. The court concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees it covered and approved the AIR H20 Pty Ltd and CEPU – Plumbing Division (Vic) Plumbing Enterprise Agreement 2024 – 2027. The court's decision was based on the evidence presented and the compliance of the agreement with the relevant legislative framework.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established