Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre

[2013] FWCA 321

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre
(AG2012/14521)

ELMHURST BUSH NURSING CENTRE NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 23 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Australian Nursing 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 January 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre was the applicant in an application before the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The nature of the dispute was whether the agreement contained all the required terms and if it met the statutory requirements for approval.

The legal issues before the court included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, whether it was a simple or low-paid agreement, and if it was a safety net agreement. The court was also required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval, including the good faith bargaining test and the public interest test.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and that it was a low-paid agreement. The Commission also found that the agreement was a safety net agreement and met the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was the product of genuine and good faith bargaining and that its approval was in the public interest. The application for approval of the Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012 was therefore approved.

The Elmhurst Bush Nursing Centre Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2012 was approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The approval is effective from the date of the decision and will remain in force until it is terminated or replaced by a new agreement. The decision of the Fair Work Commission is final and binding on the parties.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established