Dartmoor and District Bush Nursing Centre Summary

[2013] FWCA 428

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Dartmoor and District Bush Nursing Centre
(AG2012/14529)

DARTMOOR & DISTRICT BUSH NURSING CENTRE NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 7 FEBRUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Dartmoor & District Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Dartmoor & District Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Dartmoor and District Bush Nursing Centre. 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 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 14 February 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an application by the Dartmoor & District Bush Nursing Centre for the approval of the Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012. The applicant sought to have the agreement, which had been negotiated between the employer and the union representing the nurses, approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Act.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement met the necessary conditions for approval, including whether it was free from prohibited content, provided for a proper process for resolving disputes, and was made in good faith. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the agreement provided for the appropriate balance between the interests of the employer and the employees, and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act.

In its decision, the court found that the agreement was free from prohibited content and provided for an appropriate dispute resolution process. The court also determined that the agreement was made in good faith and provided for a fair balance between the interests of the employer and the employees. The court was satisfied that the agreement met all the necessary conditions for approval under the Act. Consequently, the court approved the Dartmoor & District Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012.

The court's decision to approve the agreement was based on its finding that the agreement complied with all the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court was satisfied that the agreement was free from prohibited content, provided for an appropriate dispute resolution process, and was made in good faith. The court also found that the agreement provided for a fair balance between the interests of the employer and the employees. As a result, the court granted the applicant's application for approval of the agreement.

Dartmoor and District Bush Nursing Centre

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established