CSL Australia Pty Ltd T/A CSL Australia Summary

[2024] FWCA 2391

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

CSL Australia Pty Ltd T/A CSL Australia

(AG2024/2032)

CSL AUSTRALIA AND MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA WESTERN AUSTRALIA TRANSHIPMENT OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Maritime industry
COMMISSIONER MIRABELLA	MELBOURNE, 27 JUNE 2024

Application for approval of the CSL Australia and Maritime Union of Australia Western Australia Transhipment Operations Enterprise Agreement 2024.

CSL Australia Pty Ltd T/A CSL Australia (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the CSL Australia and Maritime Union of Australia Western Australia Transhipment Operations Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the FW Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) made a number of changes to enterprise agreement approval processes in Part 2-4 of the FW Act, that commenced operation on 6 June 2023. The notification time for the Agreement was 31 August 2023 and the Agreement was made on 29 May 2024. Accordingly, both the genuine agreement and the better off overall test requirements are those applying on and from 6 June 2023.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190, as are relevant to this application for approval, has been met.

The notice of employee representational rights was drafted using an outdated template and was, therefore, not in its prescribed form. Pursuant to s.188(5), I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural error made in relation to the requirement in s.174(1A) of the FW Act. I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed to within the meaning of s.188(5) of the FW Act.

I observe that the following provisions are likely to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (the NES):

· Clause 2.11.4: Notice of termination
· Clause 2.11.6.1: Redundancy

However, noting clause 1.9.1 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the FW Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2), and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 27 June 2024 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 4 July 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 June 2028.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CSL Australia Pty Ltd, trading as CSL Australia, and the Maritime Union of Australia Western Australia sought approval of their Transhipment Operations Enterprise Agreement 2024. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which was required to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement provided for the proper classification of employees and whether it adequately covered all relevant terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement met the requirements for being a "single enterprise agreement" and if it provided for a fair and reasonable process for resolving disputes.

In considering these issues, the Commission found that the agreement was properly negotiated and included all necessary terms and conditions for employees working in the transhipment operations. The agreement was determined to be a single enterprise agreement as it covered a distinct group of employees with common employment terms. The Commission also noted that the agreement included provisions for a fair and reasonable process for resolving disputes. As a result, the Fair Work Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met all the necessary criteria for approval under the Act.

The final orders of the Commission were that the CSL Australia and Maritime Union of Australia Western Australia Transhipment Operations Enterprise Agreement 2024 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009, effective from the date of the Commission's decision. The agreement was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and would apply to all employees covered by its terms.

CSL Australia Pty Ltd T/A CSL Australia

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