DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Comtex Corporate Services Pty Ltd T/A CCS
(AG2015/5108)

COMTEX CORPORATE SERVICES PTY LIMITED SINGLE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 12 OCTOBER 2015

Application for approval of the Comtex Corporate Services Pty Limited Single Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Comtex Corporate Services Pty Limited Single Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Comtex Corporate Services Pty Ltd T/A CCS. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

[3] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 12 October 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 19 October 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 October 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Comtex Corporate Services Pty Ltd, trading as CCS, sought approval of the Comtex Corporate Services Pty Limited Single Enterprise Agreement 2015 from the Fair Work Commission. The application was brought pursuant to section 233 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which allows for the approval of single enterprise agreements by the Fair Work Commission where the requirements of the Act are satisfied. The application was contested by the Health Services Union of Australia, which argued that the agreement did not meet the necessary criteria for approval.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the terms of the proposed single enterprise agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act. This involved assessing whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the Act, including considerations of whether the agreement had been made without coercion, in good faith, and whether it provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions. The court also had to consider whether the agreement provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions, and whether it met the requirements for approval as a single enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been made without coercion, in good faith, and that it provided for a safety net of minimum wages and conditions. The Commission concluded that the agreement satisfied the criteria for approval as a single enterprise agreement. The court noted that while there were some concerns raised by the Health Services Union of Australia, these did not reach the threshold of invalidating the agreement. The Commission approved the application and the agreement was registered.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the Comtex Corporate Services Pty Limited Single Enterprise Agreement 2015 be approved and registered under section 233 of the Fair Work Act. The agreement was to take effect from the date of registration and was to be binding on all parties covered by the agreement. The court also ordered that the application be notified to all relevant parties and that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website.

Comtex Corporate Services Pty Ltd T/A CCS

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established