DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Cumberland View Aged Care Services Pty Ltd T/A Cumberland View Aged Care Services
(AG2015/4054)

CUMBERLAND VIEW AGED SERVICES PTY LTD NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER CRIBB	MELBOURNE, 5 AUGUST 2015

Application for approval of the Cumberland View Aged Services Pty Ltd Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Cumberland View Aged Services Pty Ltd Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made Cumberland View Aged Care Services Pty Ltd T/A Cumberland View Aged Care Services. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] An undertaking has been given with respect to clauses 3(a) and 10(a)(i) and is taken to be a term of the Agreement. A copy of the undertaking is attached to this Decision as Annexure A and can also be found at the end of the Agreement.

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

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) and the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU), being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement was approved in Chambers on 5 August 2015 and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 12 August 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 January 2018.

ANNEXURE A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Cumberland View Aged Care Services Pty Ltd trading as Cumberland View Aged Care Services, applied for approval of the Cumberland View Aged Services Pty Ltd Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015. The respondents included the Registered Nurses’ Union of Australia, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, and various other unions. The dispute centred around the terms and conditions of employment for nurses within the aged care facility, including wages, working hours, leave entitlements, and other employment-related matters.

The central legal issues that the Commission had to address were whether the agreement met the formal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 and if the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for the employees. This included assessing if the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act, particularly those related to minimum standards and the process for approval of enterprise agreements.

The Commission considered various submissions from both the applicant and the respondents, as well as broader policy implications of the agreement. It evaluated the agreement's provisions against the statutory minimum standards and assessed whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated. The Commission found that the agreement met the necessary criteria and was fair and reasonable. Consequently, the Commission approved the Cumberland View Aged Services Pty Ltd Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2015.

The final orders of the Commission were that the agreement be approved as a certified agreement, effective from 1 July 2015. This approval meant that the terms and conditions set out in the agreement would govern the employment of the nurses at the facility until the agreement's expiry or until superseded by another certified agreement.

Cumberland View Aged Care Services Pty Ltd T/A Cumberland View Aged Care Services

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established