Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union Summary

[2025] FWCA 1246

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union

(AG2025/958)

KERBY KERB PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU (VICTORIAN CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL DIVISION) SUBCONTRACTORS CONCRETE PLACEMENT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 - 2027

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 15 APRIL 2025

Application for approval of the Kerby Kerb Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027

The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kerby Kerb Pty Ltd and the CFMEU (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2024 - 2027 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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 CFMEU, 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 CFMEU.

The Agreement was approved on 15 April 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, an application was made for the approval of the Kerby Kerb Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (Victorian Construction and General Division) Subcontractors Concrete Placement Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027. The application was brought forward by the union, which sought to have the proposed agreement recognised as a registered enterprise agreement. The nature of the dispute centred on the terms of employment and conditions of work for employees in the concrete placement sector.

The legal issues that the Commission had to decide included whether the agreement met the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically regarding the process of bargaining and whether it contained the necessary provisions for the employees' terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it complied with the provisions of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.

The Commission deliberated on the procedural fairness of the agreement, the nature of the bargaining process, and the content of the agreement itself. It found that the agreement had been made through genuine bargaining and that it contained all the required provisions. The Commission concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, given the improvements in pay, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met all statutory requirements and was fair and reasonable. The final orders of the Commission were that the proposed agreement be registered as a registered enterprise agreement, effective from the date of registration.

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