DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Eastern Palliative Care Association Incorporated T/A Eastern Palliative Care
(AG2020/2903)

EASTERN PALLIATIVE CARE ASSOCIATION INC. AND THE AUSTRALIAN NURSING AND MIDWIFERY FEDERATION NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 22 OCTOBER 2020

Application for approval of the Eastern Palliative Care Association Inc. and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Eastern Palliative Care Association Inc. and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Eastern Palliative Care Association Incorporated T/A Eastern Palliative Care. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, 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] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery 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.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 29 October 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the Eastern Palliative Care Association Incorporated, trading as Eastern Palliative Care, and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation were involved in a dispute concerning the approval of the 2020 Nurses Enterprise Agreement. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian tribunal responsible for the resolution of workplace disputes.

The primary legal issue addressed by the Commission was whether the 2020 Nurses Enterprise Agreement met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. The Commission also considered whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirements and other provisions of the Act.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the submissions and evidence provided by both parties. It considered the provisions of the agreement, the applicable awards, and the requirements of the Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment that were not less favourable than the applicable award or safety net award. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirements and other provisions of the Act.

Based on this reasoning, the Commission approved the 2020 Nurses Enterprise Agreement between the Eastern Palliative Care Association Incorporated and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. The agreement was deemed to be compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was therefore approved.

Eastern Palliative Care Association Incorporated T/A Eastern Palliative Care

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established