DECISION

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

Croatian Ukrainian & Belarusian Aged Care Association
(AG2015/5389)

CROATIAN, UKRAINIAN AND BELARUSIAN AGED CARE ASSOCIATION AGED CARE EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER HAMPTON	ADELAIDE, 10 SEPTEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian Aged Care Association Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian Aged Care Association Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Croatian Ukrainian & Belarusian Aged Care Association. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 September 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian Aged Care Association sought approval of the Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2015 from the Fair Work Commission. The application was contested by the Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions set out in the proposed enterprise agreement, particularly those relating to pay rates and conditions for aged care employees within the association.

The legal issues before the Commission involved the fairness and validity of the proposed agreement. The key questions were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it complied with the Commission's guidelines for enterprise agreements. The Commission had to consider whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated, if it contained appropriate terms and conditions, and if it met the 'better off overall test'. This test required the Commission to determine if the agreement would provide employees with terms and conditions at least as good as those they would have under the relevant award.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement was genuinely negotiated between the association and the union, and that it contained terms and conditions that were fair and reasonable. The Commission considered that the agreement provided employees with a better overall package of terms and conditions than those under the relevant award. The Commission approved the agreement, noting that it provided a fair balance between the needs of the employees and the association's business requirements.

The Commission made an order approving the Croatian, Ukrainian and Belarusian Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2015 as a certified agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision ensured that the terms and conditions set out in the agreement would apply to the employees covered by the agreement, providing a clear and certain framework for their employment.

Croatian Ukrainian & Belarusian Aged Care Association

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established