Healthe Care South Eastern P/L T/A South Eastern Private Hospital Summary

[2023] FWCA 1344

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthe Care South Eastern P/L T/A South Eastern Private Hospital

(AG2023/894)

AURORA HEALTHCARE (VICTORIAN HOSPITALS) HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2022

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 11 MAY 2023

Application for approval of the Aurora Healthcare (Victorian Hospitals) Health Professionals Enterprise Agreement 2022

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Aurora Healthcare (Victorian Hospitals) Health Professionals Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Healthe Care South Eastern P/L T/A South Eastern Private Hospital. 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 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

The Health 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, will operate from 18 May 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2025.

COMMISSIONER

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 Healthe Care South Eastern P/L, trading as South Eastern Private Hospital, to approve the Aurora Healthcare (Victorian Hospitals) Health Professionals Enterprise Agreement 2022. This agreement was to be made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment for health professionals within the hospital, focusing on whether the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable in all respects. The Commission needed to determine whether the agreement met the legal criteria for approval, including provisions on wages, working conditions, dispute resolution, and other employment terms.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement complied with the requirements of section 230 of the Fair Work Act, which mandates that an enterprise agreement must provide for fair and reasonable terms and conditions. This involved assessing whether the agreement adequately covered the relevant employees, the bargaining scope, and whether the agreement addressed the essential terms as stipulated by the Act. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated and if it contained appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Aurora Healthcare (Victorian Hospitals) Health Professionals Enterprise Agreement 2022 was fair and reasonable in all respects. The Commission acknowledged that the agreement comprehensively addressed the essential terms and conditions required by the Fair Work Act. It noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and contained appropriate dispute resolution processes. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding that it met all the necessary legal criteria for endorsement.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the Aurora Healthcare (Victorian Hospitals) Health Professionals Enterprise Agreement 2022 be approved and registered as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The decision highlighted the importance of ensuring that all terms and conditions of employment are fair and reasonable, while also recognising the need for effective dispute resolution mechanisms within such agreements.

Healthe Care South Eastern P/L T/A South Eastern Private Hospital

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established