DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Dorel Australia Pty Ltd T/A Dorel Australia
(AG2017/4520)

DOREL AUSTRALIA 655-685 SOMERVILLE ROAD SUNSHINE WEST AND MANUFACTURING AND WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017-2020

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 15 DECEMBER 2017

Application for approval of the Dorel Australia Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Dorel Australia 655-685 Somerville Road Sunshine West and Manufacturing and Warehouse Employees Enterprise Agreement 2017-2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Dorel Australia Pty Ltd T/A Dorel Australia. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) being a bargaining representatives 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 statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 15 December 2017 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 22 December 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 22 December 2020.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Dorel Australia Pty Ltd T/A Dorel Australia applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Dorel Australia Enterprise Agreement 2017. The applicant, Dorel Australia, is an employer in the furniture manufacturing industry, and the agreement in question pertains to its employees. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining if the agreement contained the necessary provisions, was free from prohibited content, and complied with procedural requirements.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory provisions required by section 235 of the Act, whether the agreement was free from prohibited content, and if the correct procedural steps had been followed in the making of the agreement. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement met the "better off overall test" as required by section 238 of the Act.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Dorel Australia Enterprise Agreement 2017 contained all the mandatory provisions and was free from prohibited content. The Commission determined that the agreement had been made in accordance with the procedural requirements set out in the Act. The "better off overall test" was also satisfied, as the agreement provided for terms and conditions that were at least as favourable to the employees as those provided by the applicable award. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement. The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the Dorel Australia Enterprise Agreement 2017, effective from the date of the decision.

Dorel Australia Pty Ltd T/A Dorel Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established