DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Inc
(AG2019/2697)

HAMLEY BRIDGE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL NURSING STAFF AND ANMF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 11 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Nursing Staff and ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2019

[1] Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Inc has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Nursing Staff and ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). 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, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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 Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 11 September 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 18 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 September 2021.

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 by Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Inc for the approval of the Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Nursing Staff and ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2019. The primary dispute was whether the agreement, which was intended to govern the employment terms and conditions of nursing staff at the hospital, complied with the requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement adequately provided for the minimum entitlements of employees, contained the requisite good faith bargaining provisions, and was made in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements. It was also necessary to determine whether the agreement was free from any illegality or contravention of the Act.

In considering these issues, the Commission examined the text of the agreement and the process through which it was negotiated and agreed upon. The Commission found that the agreement was comprehensive in its coverage of minimum entitlements and included the necessary good faith bargaining provisions. Additionally, the evidence presented demonstrated that the agreement was the product of genuine and meaningful negotiations between the employer and the union, and that it complied with all legislative requirements. The Commission also determined that there were no elements of the agreement that contravened the Act or were otherwise illegal.

Consequently, the Commission approved the Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Nursing Staff and ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2019, thereby resolving the application in favour of the applicant. The agreement was registered and became legally binding on the parties from the date of the decision.

Hamley Bridge Memorial Hospital Inc

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established