Glen Eira City Council T/A Glen Eira City Council

[2021] FWCA 5967

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Glen Eira City Council T/A Glen Eira City Council
(AG2021/6975)

GLEN EIRA CITY COUNCIL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Local government administration
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 23 SEPTEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Glen Eira City Council Enterprise Agreement 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Glen Eira City Council Enterprise Agreement 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings (Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[4] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings. The Undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Australian Education Union, and the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 30 September 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, the case of Glen Eira City Council T/A Glen Eira City Council involved an application for the approval of the Glen Eira City Council Enterprise Agreement 2021. The applicant, the council, sought to have the agreement recognised as a certified agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary concern was whether the agreement complied with the statutory requirements and whether it met the necessary standards for approval.

The legal issues before the court centred on the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically focusing on whether the agreement met the criteria for being a certified agreement. This included examining the procedural correctness of the agreement, its compliance with the provisions of the Act, and whether it was genuinely an enterprise agreement as defined by the legislation. The court also had to consider whether the agreement had been fairly and appropriately negotiated and whether it provided for the appropriate bargaining processes.

In delivering the decision, the court found that the Glen Eira City Council Enterprise Agreement 2021 was procedurally sound and complied with the statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The court determined that the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement and had been negotiated in good faith. The court was satisfied that the agreement provided for appropriate bargaining processes and met the necessary standards for approval. Consequently, the application for approval was granted, and the agreement was certified under the Act.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established