DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2015/2022)

MAINBRACE CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 4 MARCH 2015

Application for approval of the Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd and the CFMEU Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] 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. In accordance with s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 11 March 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for approval of the Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The applicant, Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd, sought to have the enterprise agreement approved under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval, including that it was free from any illegal content and that it was made in good faith and in the spirit of cooperative behaviour.

The legal issues the court needed to address were whether the enterprise agreement was appropriately made without any improper influence, whether it was free from illegal content, and whether it complied with the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act. The court also considered whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it adhered to the principles of genuine bargaining. Additionally, the court examined whether the agreement included any terms that might unfairly disadvantage any party or contravene any provision of the Fair Work Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the enterprise agreement was appropriately made without any undue influence or improper conduct. It concluded that the agreement was free from illegal content and complied with all the statutory requirements. The court found that the agreement was made in good faith and in the spirit of cooperative behaviour, as evidenced by the parties' conduct during the bargaining process. It was also determined that the agreement did not include any terms that would unfairly disadvantage any party and did not contravene any provision of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the application for approval was successful.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission included the approval of the Mainbrace Constructions Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The agreement was certified as meeting all the necessary criteria for approval under section 231 of the Fair Work Act, effective from the date of the decision.

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established