DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc
(AG2018/5803)

DARGO BUSH NURSING CENTRE INC. NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 20 FEBRUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation 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 of the Act, will operate from 27 February 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. and its registered nurses. The Centre sought approval of the Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018, which outlined terms and conditions of employment for the nurses. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The central legal issue was whether the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement, as defined under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act. This included examining whether the agreement contained the required minimum terms, was made without coercion, and whether it had been properly certified by the relevant independent statutory body.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018 was a genuine enterprise agreement. The Commission concluded that the agreement was made in good faith, complied with the statutory minimum terms, and was not the result of any form of coercion. Additionally, the agreement had been properly certified by the relevant independent body, meeting all the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, confirming its validity and enforceability.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2018, finding it to be a genuine enterprise agreement that met all the statutory requirements for approval.

Dargo Bush Nursing Centre Inc

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established