Heyfield Hospital Summary

[2013] FWCA 9301

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Heyfield Hospital
(AG2013/9959)

HEYFIELD HOSPITAL INC, THE AUSTRALIAN NURSING AND MIDWIFERY FEDERATION AND THE HEALTH SERVICES UNION NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER CRIBB	MELBOURNE, 26 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Heyfield Hospital Inc, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Heyfield Hospital Inc, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Heyfield Hospital. 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 (ANMF) and Health Services Union of Australia (HSU) being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement was approved in Chambers on 26 November 2013 and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 3 December 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2016.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Heyfield Hospital Inc, together with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union, sought approval of the Heyfield Hospital Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the Commission having to determine whether the agreement met the criteria set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The respondents, the Heyfield Hospital Inc and the Heyfield Community Health Service, opposed the application, arguing that the agreement failed to meet the criteria.

The legal issue for the Commission was whether the agreement was a bona fide enterprise agreement and met all the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the processes set out in the Act and whether it covered the necessary matters. The Commission also had to determine whether the agreement was consistent with the national workplace relations system and did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy.

In reaching its decision, the Commission found that the agreement had been made in accordance with the processes set out in the Fair Work Act and covered the necessary matters. The Commission also found that the agreement was consistent with the national workplace relations system and did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy. The Commission accepted the evidence of the applicants that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that all the necessary steps had been taken to ensure that the agreement was properly made. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement met all the criteria set out in the Fair Work Act and approved the agreement.

The Commission made an order approving the Heyfield Hospital Inc Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The order also provided that the agreement would commence on the first day of the first agreed pay period after the date of the order. The respondents were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement and to ensure that it was complied with by all relevant parties.

Heyfield Hospital

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established