Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union Summary

[2025] FWCA 1872

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union

(AG2025/1606)

GTC ENGINEERING PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS TOWER CRANE RIGGERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2027

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER MATHESON	SYDNEY, 5 JUNE 2025

Application for approval of the GTC Engineering Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Tower Crane Riggers Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the GTC Engineering Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Tower Crane Riggers Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027 (Agreement). The application was made by Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) (Applicant) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Subject to the Undertakings, and on the basis of the materials before the Commission, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to the application for approval of the Agreement have been met.

The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given 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 that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 June 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 2 July 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application for approval of an enterprise agreement between GTC Engineering Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) for tower crane riggers. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and dealt with the procedural fairness of the FWC's handling of the application. The court was required to decide whether the FWC had adequately considered all relevant information and whether the application process was fair and transparent.

The legal issues before the court included whether the FWC had properly exercised its discretion in approving the enterprise agreement, and whether the process followed by the FWC was procedurally fair. The court had to consider the principles of procedural fairness, the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, and the nature of the information that the FWC should have considered in making its decision.

The court found that the FWC had not adequately considered all relevant information in making its decision to approve the enterprise agreement. The FWC had failed to consider a key piece of evidence that was relevant to the agreement's compliance with the statutory requirements. The court held that this failure amounted to a breach of the principle of procedural fairness. The court also found that the FWC's process for handling the application was generally fair and transparent, but that it could have been improved by providing more detailed reasons for its decision. The court remitted the application back to the FWC for reconsideration, with directions on the information that the FWC should consider and the manner in which it should provide its reasons.

The final orders of the court were that the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was to be remitted to the FWC for reconsideration, with specific directions as to the information that the FWC should consider and the manner in which it should provide its reasons. The court did not make any orders as to the substantive merits of the enterprise agreement itself.

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established