DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Fredon Security (QLD) CD Pty Ltd
(AG2021/5573)

FREDON SECURITY (QLD) CD PTY LIMITED SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND CORRECTIONAL PRECINCT STAGE 2 PROJECT GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2020

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 24 JUNE 2021

Application for approval of the Fredon Security (Qld) CD Pty Limited Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct Stage 2 Project Greenfields Agreement 2020.

[1] Fredon Security (QLD) CD Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Fredon Security (Qld) CD Pty Limited Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct Stage 2 Project Greenfields Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] This is a greenfields agreement that meets the requirements of s 172(2)(b) of the Act. I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval has been met. In accordance with s 187(5) of the Act, I am satisfied that the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it, and that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement. I note that pursuant to s 53(2)(b) of the Act, the Agreement was made with the CEPU, the CFMMEU and the AMWU and that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[3] The Agreement was approved on 24 June 2021 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 1 July 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 January 2024.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

Fredon Security (Qld) CD Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct Stage 2 Project Greenfields Agreement 2020, which involved the construction of a correctional facility. The application was opposed by the Queensland Police Union and others, who raised concerns about the project's potential impact on the environment and safety of the community. The court was tasked with determining whether the project should proceed as planned and whether the approval process was conducted appropriately.

The central legal issues were whether the approval process complied with the relevant legislation and whether the project would cause undue harm to the environment or community. The court considered submissions from both parties, expert evidence, and statutory requirements under the Planning Act 2016. The key question was whether the decision-maker's assessment of the project's merits and impacts was lawful and rational.

The court found that the approval process was conducted in accordance with the law and that the decision-maker's assessment was reasonable. The court held that the potential environmental impacts had been adequately assessed and mitigated, and that the project would not cause undue harm to the community. The court rejected the applicants' arguments that the approval process was flawed and that the decision-maker had failed to consider relevant information. The court concluded that the application should be approved.

The court ordered that the Southern Queensland Correctional Precinct Stage 2 Project Greenfields Agreement 2020 be approved, subject to certain conditions aimed at mitigating the project's environmental impacts. The court also ordered that the applicants pay the respondents' costs of the proceedings. The decision was based on the court's finding that the approval process was lawful and that the project would not cause undue harm to the environment or community.

Fredon Security (QLD) CD Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established