DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2018/665)

INALA COMMUNITY KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Educational services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	SYDNEY, 31 MAY 2018

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

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Inala Community 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.

[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 is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 June 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 case involves an application by the Independent Education Union of Australia to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Inala Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Enterprise Agreement 2018. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the necessary standards and requirements set by Australian labour laws, particularly those concerning the fairness and reasonableness of the terms outlined for the employees of the Inala Community Kindergarten.

The legal issues that the Commission was required to address included whether the agreement provided for appropriate minimum rates of pay and conditions for employees, whether it included provisions for the negotiation of future agreements, and whether it allowed for the protection of employees' rights and interests. Additionally, the Commission needed to ensure that the agreement did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

In its reasoning, the Commission noted that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were largely consistent with those in similar agreements within the early childhood education sector. The Commission found that the agreement included provisions for future negotiations and the protection of employees' rights. It also determined that the agreement did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it to be fair and reasonable in all respects.

No final orders were explicitly mentioned in the text, but the approval of the agreement by the Commission effectively allowed it to be implemented as a binding enterprise agreement between the union and the Inala Community Kindergarten.

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