DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd
(AG2021/4747)

CONNELL CIVIL GROUP PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 5 MAY 2021

Application for approval of the Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The employer has provided a written undertaking, a copy of which is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertaking will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that it will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertaking is taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertaking referred to above, and 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, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 5 May 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 12 May 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE511306 PR729199>
Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd, sought approval for the Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021 from the Fair Work Commission. The agreement was intended to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for certain workers employed by the company. The dispute arose as the applicants sought to have the agreement recognised and enforced as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was required to decide whether the agreement met the requirements for registration, including the process by which the agreement was made and the provisions of the agreement itself.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the Fair Work Act, whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements, and whether it contained provisions that were contrary to public policy or otherwise unenforceable. The applicants argued that the agreement had been made through proper consultation and negotiation with the relevant trade unions, and that it contained provisions that were fair and reasonable. The unions, however, argued that the process was flawed and that certain provisions of the agreement were unfair and unenforceable.

The Commission found that the agreement had been made through a process that complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the good faith bargaining provisions. The Commission also found that the agreement contained provisions that were fair and reasonable, and that did not contravene any public policy considerations. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met the requirements for registration under the Fair Work Act. The applicants were granted the relief they sought, and the agreement was registered as a certified agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2021 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the agreement had been made through a process that complied with the requirements of the Act, and that it contained provisions that were fair and reasonable. The Commission rejected the unions' objections and registered the agreement as a certified agreement, allowing it to be enforced as a binding contract between the parties.

Connell Civil Group Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established