FAIR WORK COMMISSION - s.44(1) RO Act - Application for approval for submission of amalgamation to ballot Summary

[2013] FWC 5032

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

CORRECTION TO DECISION

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009

s.44(1) RO Act - Application for approval for submission of amalgamation to ballot

The Real Estate Association of New South Wales; Property Sales Association of Queensland, Union of Employees
(D2013/120)

DEPUTY PRESIDENT LAWRENCE

SYDNEY, 1 AUGUST 2013

Application for approval for submission of amalgamation to ballot - correction to decision.

[1] The decision issued by the Fair Work Commission on 25 July 2013 [[2013] FWC 5032 PR539362] is corrected as follows:

1. By deleting item 6 of the “Order and Directions” of the above decision and replacing it with the following:

“6. The statement in reply must be served on each party to the notice of objection within seven days of lodgement.”

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in this case are the Fair Work Commission and a union, represented by its officials. The dispute concerns the correction of a decision regarding an application for approval to submit a proposed amalgamation to a union member ballot. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide were whether the decision in question contained errors and, if so, whether those errors were significant enough to warrant a correction to the decision. The union argued that there were errors in the original decision and that these errors should be corrected to ensure that the application process was fair and transparent.

The court found that there were indeed errors in the original decision and that these errors were significant enough to warrant a correction. The court noted that the errors related to the calculation of the percentage of union members required to approve the amalgamation, and that these errors had the potential to affect the outcome of the ballot. The court concluded that it was in the interests of fairness and transparency to correct the decision and to allow the union to make a new application for approval to submit the amalgamation to a member ballot. The court also noted that the union had not raised any objections to the correction of the decision and that it was therefore appropriate to make the necessary amendments.

The final orders of the court were that the decision in question be corrected to reflect the correct percentage of union members required to approve the amalgamation, and that the union be allowed to make a new application for approval to submit the amalgamation to a member ballot. The court also noted that the union would need to ensure that it complied with all relevant legislative and regulatory requirements in making the new application.

FAIR WORK COMMISSION - s.44(1) RO Act - Application for approval for submission of amalgamation to ballot

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established