DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthe Care Valley Pty Ltd
(AG2016/4921)

HEALTHE CARE (VICTORIAN HOSPITALS) NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER GREGORY	MELBOURNE, 7 OCTOBER 2016

Application for approval of the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2016 (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 Valley Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 14 October 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Healthe Care Valley Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, with Deputy President D. J. Richardson presiding. The applicant, Healthe Care Valley Pty Ltd, is an employer in the private hospital sector and the respondent, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch), is a trade union representing nurses employed by the applicant. The dispute centred on whether the terms of the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, if it allowed for proper consultation and bargaining between the parties, and if it included adequate provisions for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

In reaching its decision, the Commission considered the submissions from both parties, as well as the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The Commission found that the proposed enterprise agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace, and that it allowed for proper consultation and bargaining between the parties. The Commission also found that the agreement included adequate provisions for the protection of employees' rights and interests, and that it met the necessary standards for approval. Accordingly, the Commission approved the proposed enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Healthe Care (Victorian Hospitals) Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2016 be approved as a certified agreement under the Fair Work Act. The agreement will now be registered with the Fair Work Commission and will apply to the relevant employees and employers.

Healthe Care Valley Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established