dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd T/A dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd

[2024] FWCA 2804

[2024] FWCA 2804

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd T/A dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/2576)

DORMAKABA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD SERVICE ELECTRICIANS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 30 JULY 2024

Application for approval of the dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd Service Electricians Enterprise Agreement 2024

1. dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd Service Electricians Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act).  The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

1. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) (the Amending Act) made several changes to enterprise agreement approval processes in Part 2-4 of the Act, which commenced operation on 6 June 2023.

1. Under transitional arrangements, amendments made by Part 14 of Schedule 1 to the Amending Act in relation to genuine agreement requirements for agreement approval applications apply where the notification time for the agreement was on or after 6 June 2023. The notification time for the Agreement under s 173(2) was 24 April 2024 and the Agreement was made on 5 July 2024. Accordingly, both the genuine agreement and the better off overall test requirements are those applying on and from 6 June 2023.

1. The Applicant was alerted to an inconsistency between the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) and clause 1 of the Agreement. Specifically, that the NERR refers to the title of the proposed Agreement as being the ‘dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd Service Electricians WA Enterprise Agreement 2024’ and clause 1 of the Agreement includes the title ‘dormakaba Australia Pty Ltd Service Electricians Enterprise Agreement 2024’. The Applicant submits that the exclusion of ‘WA’ from the title of the proposed Agreement in the NERR is a minor procedural or technical error within the meaning of s 188(5) of the FW Act. I am satisfied that a typographical error leading to an inconsistency between the title of the Agreement and the title as listed in the NERR constitutes a minor or procedural error, despite the NERR arguably not being in the prescribed form required by s 174(1A) of the Act. Further, I consider that no employees were disadvantaged by the error. The scope of the Agreement was not affected by the exclusion of ‘WA’ in clause 1 of the Proposed Agreement. Therefore, notwithstanding this error, I am of the view that the Agreement was genuinely agreed to within the meaning of s 188(5) of the Act.

1. 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.

1. Pursuant to s 205A(2) of the Act, the workplace delegates’ rights term prescribed by the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

1. The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (the organisation), 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 declarations provided by the organisation, I note that the organisation is covered by the Agreement.

1. The Agreement was approved on 30 July 2024 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 6 August 2024.  The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE525627  PR777675>

Annexure A