Independent Education Union of Australia

[2018] FWCA 4091

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia

(AG2018/2755)

Charleville Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2018

Educational services
Commissioner Lee	MELBOURNE, 10 JULY 2018

Application for approval of the Charleville Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2018.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Charleville Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective 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.

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.

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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 July 2018. 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 applicants, being the Independent Education Union of Australia, sought approval of the Charleville Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2018. The respondents, being the Department of Education and various employers, opposed the application on the grounds that the agreement contained provisions that were not consistent with the statutory requirements under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (Qld). The case was heard in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the provisions within the proposed agreement were in compliance with the statutory requirements for early childhood education collective agreements under the relevant legislation. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the provisions related to pay rates, conditions of employment, and other terms and conditions were in accordance with the legislative framework.

The Commission examined the provisions of the agreement and the relevant statutory provisions. It found that while most of the agreement was consistent with the statutory requirements, certain provisions regarding pay rates for certain classifications did not comply with the legislative framework. The Commission considered that these provisions could potentially undermine the purpose of the legislation, which is to ensure fair and consistent pay rates for early childhood education workers. Consequently, the Commission rejected the application for approval of the agreement in its entirety due to the non-compliant pay rate provisions.

The Commission's final orders were that the application for approval of the Charleville Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2018 be dismissed. The Commission directed the parties to negotiate a revised agreement that complied with the statutory requirements, or for the matter to be referred back to the Commission for further consideration if negotiations failed.

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