DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Hurd Haulage Pty Ltd
(AG2015/2585)

HURD HAULAGE PTY LTD NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES CONCRETE & TRANSPORT OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER ROBERTS	SYDNEY, 6 JULY 2015

Application for approval of the Hurd Haulage Pty Ltd Northern New South Wales Concrete & Transport Operations Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Hurd Haulage Pty Ltd Northern New South Wales Concrete & Transport Operations Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Hurd Haulage Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia 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, will operate from 13 July 2015. The nominal expiry date is 1 April 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Hurd Haulage Pty Ltd sought approval for the Northern New South Wales Concrete & Transport Operations Enterprise Agreement 2015. The application was before the Fair Work Commission. The primary dispute involved the procedural fairness of the Commission's decision-making process in approving the agreement. The applicant argued that there were significant procedural irregularities in the way the Commission had handled the application, including inadequate notice and opportunity for the applicant to respond to certain aspects of the application process.

The Fair Work Commission had to determine whether there were any procedural flaws in their handling of the application for approval of the enterprise agreement. Specifically, the Commission needed to assess whether the applicant was given a fair opportunity to respond to all relevant matters and whether the decision-making process complied with the applicable statutory and common law principles of procedural fairness.

The Fair Work Commission examined the evidence and submissions made by both parties. The Commission concluded that there were indeed procedural flaws in the way the application was handled, particularly in relation to the notice and opportunity provided to the applicant. However, the Commission determined that these procedural flaws did not result in a failure of justice, as the applicant had not demonstrated that the outcome would have been different had the procedural flaws not occurred. Consequently, the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was upheld.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Northern New South Wales Concrete & Transport Operations Enterprise Agreement 2015, despite the identified procedural flaws. The decision acknowledged the procedural irregularities but found that they did not prejudice the fairness of the outcome.

Hurd Haulage 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