DECISION

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

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
(AG2014/10115)

QUEENSDREAM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD T/AS NINETY DEGREE KITCHENS AND THE CFMEU BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2011-2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT WATSON	MELBOURNE, 5 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Queensdream Australia Pty Ltd T/As Ninety Degree Kitchens 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 Queensdream Australia Pty Ltd T/As Ninety Degree Kitchens 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 12 December 2014. 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 court involved an application for the approval of the Queensdream Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Ninety Degree Kitchens, and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Building and Construction Industry Enterprise Agreement 2011-2015. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, a tribunal with jurisdiction to resolve disputes related to workplace agreements and the Fair Work Act. The union sought approval of the enterprise agreement, which aimed to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for workers within the specified industry and employer.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act, particularly concerning the process through which the agreement was made and whether it met the 'better off overall test'. The latter test ensures that employees under the agreement are not worse off financially than they would be under the applicable award or other industrial instrument. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether the process for making it was fair.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and followed a fair process. It was also determined that the agreement satisfied the better off overall test, as employees were not worse off financially compared to their previous conditions. The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it provided a fair and reasonable framework for the employment relationship between the employer and the employees. The decision confirmed the validity and enforceability of the enterprise agreement, allowing it to proceed as a binding instrument between the parties involved.

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