DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2018/5358)

CALLIOPE KINDERGARTEN & PRESCHOOL EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Educational services
COMMISSIONER HARPER-GREENWELL	MELBOURNE, 8 FEBRUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Calliope Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Calliope Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2018 (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] 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 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.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 8 February 2019 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 15 February 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Independent Education Union of Australia brought an application to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Calliope Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2018. The union argued that the agreement met all necessary legal requirements for approval and should be registered. The application was contested by the employer, who claimed that certain provisions within the agreement did not comply with the Fair Work Act 2009.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement contained terms that were not reasonably necessary for the protection of the employees' interests, and whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement was made in good faith and if the procedural fairness was observed throughout the bargaining process.

In delivering its decision, the Commission found that the agreement was made in good faith and that the procedural fairness was maintained. The Commission also held that the provisions in question were reasonably necessary for the protection of the employees' interests. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement and directed its registration. The employer's concerns regarding the compliance of certain provisions were dismissed as the Commission found that they did not contravene the Fair Work Act. The union's application was therefore successful.

The final orders included the registration of the Calliope Kindergarten & Preschool Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2018, effective from the date of the decision. The employer was directed to give the union written notice of the registration within five business days of the decision. The union was also directed to lodge a copy of the registered agreement with the Commission within the same period.

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