Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd Summary

[2022] FWCA 2076

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd

(AG2022/1684)

Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 23 JUNE 2022

Application for approval of the Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd. 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 June 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd, a private hospital operator, and its registered nurses and midwives who were employees under the Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025. The primary dispute was whether the terms and conditions of the proposed agreement should be approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The application for approval was lodged by Healthscope, and the Fair Work Commission was the court tasked with determining the matter.

The legal issues before the FFW were whether the proposed agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly sections concerning the provision of fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The FWC had to ensure that the agreement did not unfairly disadvantage the employees and that it met the standards of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining.

In assessing the application, the FWC considered the evidence and submissions from both parties, focusing on the terms of the agreement and their implications for the employees. The FWC concluded that the agreement met the statutory requirements, providing fair and reasonable terms for the employees. The FWC found that the agreement included provisions that addressed wages, working conditions, and other employment-related matters in a manner that was fair and reasonable, and that the bargaining process had been conducted in good faith. Consequently, the FWC approved the Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025.

The FWC's final order was the approval of the Healthscope – Victoria – Nurses’ and Midwives’ Agreement 2021-2025, effective from the date of the decision. This approval meant that the terms and conditions outlined in the agreement would govern the employment relationship between Healthscope and its registered nurses and midwives in Victoria for the specified period.

Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established