Geelong Regional Library Corporation Summary

[2025] FWCA 722

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Geelong Regional Library Corporation

(AG2024/5111)

GEELONG REGIONAL LIBRARY CORPORATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT NUMBER 9 2024

Local government administration
DEPUTY PRESIDENT CROSS	SYDNEY, 25 FEBRUARY 2025

Application for approval of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement Number 9 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Geelong Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement Number 9 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Geelong Regional Library Corporation. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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.

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.

Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 March 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2027.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the Geelong Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement Number 9 2024. The Geelong Regional Library Corporation, acting as the employer, sought the Commission's approval of the enterprise agreement, which outlined terms and conditions for employees within the library's workforce. The primary focus of the application was to ensure that the proposed agreement complied with relevant industrial laws and provided for fair and reasonable terms for both the employer and employees.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the enterprise agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether the terms of the agreement were fair and reasonable for all parties involved. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess whether the agreement provided adequate protections for employees, ensured fair treatment, and adhered to procedural fairness. The Commission also examined whether the agreement was negotiated in good faith and whether it complied with minimum standards as prescribed by the Act.

In delivering its decision, the Commission considered the submissions from both the employer and the employees' representatives. The Commission found that the enterprise agreement was negotiated in good faith and contained terms that were fair and reasonable. It met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 and provided for adequate protections for employees, ensuring fair treatment. The agreement also complied with minimum standards as prescribed by the Act, and the procedural fairness was upheld throughout the negotiation process. Based on these findings, the Commission approved the Geelong Regional Library Corporation Enterprise Agreement Number 9 2024, effective from the date of the decision.

Geelong Regional Library Corporation

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established