DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5941)

DIVERSE FIRE GROUP PTY LTD SPRINKLER FITTERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Plumbing industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 9 JULY 2021

Application for approval of the Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd Sprinkler Fitters Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd Sprinkler Fitters Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[3] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia, 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) and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 9 July 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 16 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd Sprinkler Fitters Enterprise Agreement 2021. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved as a low-paid enterprise agreement, under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it met the requirements for low-paid enterprise agreements, including the requirement that it be free from adverse action provisions. The respondent, the Australian Building and Construction Commission, contested the application, arguing that the agreement contained provisions that were inconsistent with the requirements for low-paid enterprise agreements.

The Commission found that the agreement did contain adverse action provisions and that these provisions were inconsistent with the requirements for low-paid enterprise agreements. The Commission found that the applicant had failed to demonstrate that the agreement was free from adverse action provisions. The Commission also found that the agreement did not meet the requirements for low-paid enterprise agreements and that it could not be approved as such. However, the Commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it could be approved as a simple enterprise agreement, under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The Commission approved the agreement as a simple enterprise agreement, under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission found that the agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement and that it met the requirements for simple enterprise agreements. The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions that were inconsistent with the requirements for low-paid enterprise agreements, but found that these provisions did not affect the genuineness of the agreement or its compliance with the requirements for simple enterprise agreements. The Commission approved the agreement with minor modifications to remove the adverse action provisions and to ensure that it met the requirements for simple enterprise agreements.

Diverse Fire Group Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established