Concept Engineering (Vic) Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 3508

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Concept Engineering (Vic) Pty Ltd

(AG2025/3445)

CONCEPT ENGINEERING PTY LTD AND ETU VICTORIAN RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025 2029

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 22 OCTOBER 2025

Application for approval of the Concept Engineering Pty Ltd and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2025 2029

Concept Engineering (Vic) Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Concept Engineering Pty Ltd and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2025 2029 (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 Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (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 22 October 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this matter were Concept Engineering (Vic) Pty Ltd and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU). The dispute was about whether the Fair Work Commission should approve the Concept Engineering Pty Ltd and ETU Victorian Rail Infrastructure Enterprise Agreement 2025 – 2029. The Fair Work Commission was the court that heard the application. The applicants argued that the proposed enterprise agreement should be approved, while the respondents argued that it should not be approved.

The legal issues that the court had to decide were whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, and whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees. The court had to consider whether the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, whether it included appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms, and whether it provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

The court found that the proposed enterprise agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 and was in the best interests of the employees. The court noted that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment, including provisions for pay rates, leave entitlements, and working hours. The court also found that the agreement included appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms, such as mediation and arbitration, and that it provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests. The court approved the proposed enterprise agreement and made orders accordingly.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established