Healthcare Imaging Services (Victoria) Pty Ltd T/A Lumus Imaging Services

[2022] FWCA 2431

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthcare Imaging Services (Victoria) Pty Ltd T/A Lumus Imaging Services

(AG2022/2208)

Lumus Imaging, Victoria, Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BELL	MELBOURNE, 21 JULY 2022

Application for approval of the Lumus Imaging Victoria, Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lumus Imaging Victoria, Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Healthcare Imaging Services (Victoria) Pty Ltd T/A Lumus Imaging Services. 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. Pursuant to s.201(3), 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. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer. However, taking into account the factors in sections 186(3) and (3A), I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

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), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement was approved on 21 July 2022 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 28 July 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2026.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved Healthcare Imaging Services (Victoria) Pty Ltd, trading as Lumus Imaging Services, and the Australian Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Assistants Union. The dispute centred on the approval of the Lumus Imaging Victoria Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022. The parties disagreed on certain aspects of the proposed agreement, leading to the application for the Commission's approval. The Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether it was in the best interests of the employees involved.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act, and if it was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission needed to consider whether the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms, including adequate protections for employees, and if it had been genuinely agreed upon by the parties. Additionally, the Commission assessed whether the agreement included appropriate provisions for the protection of vulnerable employees, such as those with lower incomes, and whether it complied with any relevant award or registered agreement.

The Fair Work Commission determined that the proposed agreement was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission found that the agreement provided for fair and reasonable terms, including adequate protections for employees, and was genuinely agreed upon by the parties. The Commission also found that the agreement included appropriate provisions for the protection of vulnerable employees and complied with any relevant award or registered agreement. The Commission approved the Lumus Imaging Victoria Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022, stating that it met the statutory requirements and was in the best interests of the employees.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Lumus Imaging Victoria Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2022 be approved and registered as an enterprise agreement under section 177 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement would come into effect on the first day of the first agreed pay period after the registration of the agreement. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be published on the Fair Work Commission's website and that copies of the agreement be provided to the parties and their employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established