DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2019/4521)

TOOGOOLAWAH KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Children's services
COMMISSIONER CIRKOVIC	MELBOURNE, 18 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Toogoolawah Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Toogoolawah Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Independent Education Union of Australia. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] 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.

[4] The Independent Education Union of Australia 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.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 18 December 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 25 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Independent Education Union of Australia lodged an application in the Fair Work Commission seeking approval of the Toogoolawah Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019. The application involved the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009 in relation to the negotiation and approval of the enterprise agreement. The Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the Act, particularly focusing on whether the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated.

The central legal issues that the Commission needed to address included whether the union had genuinely represented the employees, if the agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by the Act, and whether the process of negotiation and agreement was fair and genuine. Furthermore, the Commission had to consider if the agreement provided for procedural fairness and met the standards set by previous case law and legislative requirements.

The Commission found that the union had genuinely represented the employees, and the agreement contained all the mandatory terms. The process of negotiation was deemed fair and genuine, and the agreement was consistent with the legislative framework. Consequently, the Commission approved the Toogoolawah Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019. The Commission's decision was based on the evidence presented, which demonstrated compliance with the statutory requirements for the approval of enterprise agreements.

As a result of the Commission's decision, the Toogoolawah Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2019 was approved and came into effect on the date specified in the agreement. The approval signified that the agreement was fair, genuinely negotiated, and met all legal requirements, thereby providing a legally binding framework for the employment conditions of the relevant employees.

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