Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 198

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/5037)

THE CONSOLIDATED POWER PROJECTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ELECTRICAL SUPPLY INDUSTRY QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2028

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DOBSON	BRISBANE, 17 JANUARY 2025

Application for approval of the Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2028

This decision deals with an application made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024-2028 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) distributed to employees appears to have a different name for the Agreement to that which was eventually made. However, I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural departure from the prescribed form requirements of the NERR under s.174(1A) of the Act and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(5) of the Act.[1]

On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, having regard to the Statement of Principles,[2] I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (ETU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the ETU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate from 24 January 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

[1] Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others[2019] FWCFB 318 [117].

[2] Fair Work (Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement) Instrument 2023.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024-2028. The company sought the Commission's approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 to establish a new enterprise agreement, replacing the existing agreement which was set to expire. The application was brought before the Commission to assess whether the proposed agreement met the requirements set out in the Act for approval.

The legal issues the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement provided for the prescribed minimum entitlements, whether it complied with the good faith bargaining requirements, and whether it contained any terms that were not directly related to the agreement's subject matter. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it promoted workplace harmony. Furthermore, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement provided for a streamlined process for resolving disputes and whether it adequately protected the rights of employees.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement met all the statutory requirements for approval. The agreement provided for the prescribed minimum entitlements, including rates of pay, leave provisions, and other conditions of employment. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and contained no terms that were extraneous to the agreement's subject matter. The Commission concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and would promote workplace harmony. The streamlined dispute resolution process and the protections for employee rights were also found to be adequate. Consequently, the Commission approved the Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024-2028, effective from the date of the approval decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established