DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2020/3456)

LISMORE PRESCHOOL INCORPORATED TEACHERS' AGREEMENT 2020

Educational services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 11 DECEMBER 2020

Application for approval of the Lismore Preschool Incorporated Teachers' Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Lismore Preschool Incorporated Teachers' Agreement 2020 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On behalf of Lismore Preschool Incorporated, Ms Candice Woodward (President of the Preschool Management Committee of Lismore Preschool Incorporated) has provided written undertakings dated 8 December 2020. Those undertakings are attached at Annexure A to this decision and become terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement (as compared to the relevant provisions of the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2010), and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[5] The IEU, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 18 December 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Independent Education Union of Australia applied for the approval of the Lismore Preschool Incorporated Teachers' Agreement 2020 under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006. The application was opposed by the employer, the Lismore Preschool Incorporated. The dispute came before the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales, which was required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

The central issue before the Commission was whether the agreement provided adequate protection for the interests of the teachers and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act. The Commission needed to assess if the agreement's terms were consistent with the objectives of the Act and whether it provided fair and reasonable terms for the teachers.

The Commission examined the agreement clause by clause and found that it generally provided for fair and reasonable terms of employment. The Commission noted that the agreement contained provisions for minimum working hours, annual leave, public holidays, and other employment conditions that were in line with the Act's requirements. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for adequate mechanisms for the resolution of disputes between the teachers and the employer. Given these findings, the Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided adequate protection for the interests of the teachers and was consistent with the objectives of the Act.

The Commission approved the Lismore Preschool Incorporated Teachers' Agreement 2020, subject to certain modifications. The modifications related to the calculation of penalty rates and the provisions for redundancy payments. The Commission considered these modifications necessary to ensure that the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act. The employer and the union were directed to negotiate and finalise the modified agreement within a specified timeframe.

Independent Education Union of Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established