GO OFFSHORE Pty Ltd

[2021] FWCA 5828

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

GO OFFSHORE Pty Ltd
(AG2021/6922)

GO OFFSHORE PTY LTD MARITIME OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS EMPLOYEE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Oil and gas industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 15 SEPTEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the GO Offshore Pty Ltd Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Employee Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the GO Offshore Pty Ltd Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Employee Enterprise Agreement 202 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by GO OFFSHORE Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] The Applicant lodged an application under s.594(1)(c) seeking redaction of “the entire signature” of the Agreement. The application also sought that a “copy of the original documents as filed to remain in a sealed envelope on the Commission file, not to be opened without application to the Commission and notification to the Applicant”. The Applicant set out the grounds for the application, which I have considered. On 6 September 2021, my chambers wrote to the parties indicating my provisional view as follows:

“The Commissioner has considered the submissions made by the Applicant regarding the above application and has formed the provisional view that the signature should be redacted. The Commissioner has also formed the provisional view that it is not appropriate to seal documents in an envelope and does not propose to make such order.

Any objections to this provisional view should be raised by not later than Friday, 10 September 2021. In the absence of any objections, a [decision] will be made consistent with the Commissioner’s provisional view expressed above.”

[5] The parties did not raise any objections to the provisional view expressed. As such, I exercise my discretion under s.594(1) of the Act to redact the entire signature page in the Agreement.

[6] The Australian Maritime Officers’ Union, The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers and Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each 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 organisations.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 September 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 September 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties in the case were GO Offshore Pty Ltd and its employees, represented by a union. The dispute involved the application for approval of the GO Offshore Pty Ltd Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Employee Enterprise Agreement 2021 by the Fair Work Commission. The nature of the dispute was centred on the fairness and reasonableness of the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement and whether it complied with relevant industrial laws and regulations. The court handling this matter was the Fair Work Commission, which is responsible for overseeing and approving enterprise agreements in Australia.

The legal issues the court was required to decide included whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, including whether it was made in good faith, and whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was made without coercion, undue influence, or discrimination and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed enterprise agreement met the criteria for approval. The court found that the agreement was made in good faith and contained fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. It also concluded that the agreement did not involve any coercion, undue influence, or discrimination, and that it complied with all relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009. Based on these findings, the court approved the GO Offshore Pty Ltd Maritime Offshore Oil and Gas Employee Enterprise Agreement 2021.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission included the approval of the enterprise agreement, which was to be registered with the Fair Work Commission and binding on all parties involved. The court also ordered that the agreement would come into effect from the date of approval and would remain in force until it was terminated or replaced by a new agreement. This decision provided certainty and legal enforceability to the terms of the agreement, ensuring that both the employer and employees were bound by its provisions.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established