DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd

[2024] FWCA 1377

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/1101)

DOF SUBSEA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD AND THE MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA DIVING GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2024

Diving services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 17 APRIL 2024

Application for approval of the DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd and the Maritime Union of Australia Diving Greenfields Agreement 2024

DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd and the Maritime Union of Australia Diving Greenfields Agreement 2024 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

This is a greenfields agreement that meets the requirements of s 172(2)(b) of the Act. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval has been met. In accordance with s 187(5)(a) of the Act, I am satisfied that the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

I note that the Agreement was made with the CFMEU and therefore covers this organisation (see s 53(2)(b)).

The Agreement was approved on 17 April 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application was made by DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd and the Maritime Union of Australia (Diving) for the approval of an enterprise agreement. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the Honourable Member S.J. Rice presiding. The enterprise agreement in question, the DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd and the Maritime Union of Australia Diving Greenfields Agreement 2024, was contested by a number of parties, including some employees of DOF Subsea Australia Pty Ltd, who claimed that the agreement did not meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues the court needed to determine were whether the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act, particularly in relation to its coverage, the bargaining process, and the fairness of the terms and conditions it proposed. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and whether it met the 'better off overall test' as required by the Act.

The court examined the process through which the agreement was reached, noting the evidence provided by both the union and the employer. The court found that the agreement was the result of genuine and meaningful bargaining and that it covered all employees as intended. It further found that the terms and conditions of the agreement were fair and reasonable, and that they met the statutory requirements for approval. The court concluded that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees and satisfied the 'better off overall test'. Therefore, the court approved the enterprise agreement, ensuring that it would now be legally binding on the parties involved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established