DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2017/6160)

LOWOOD AND DISTRICT KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2017

Educational services
COMMISSIONER HARPER-GREENWELL	MELBOURNE, 25 JANUARY 2018

Application for approval of the Lowood and District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Lowood and District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement 2017 (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 25 January 2018 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 1 February 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Independent Education Union of Australia (IUEA) applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for approval of the Lowood and District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement 2017. The respondent, Lowood and District Kindergarten Association, did not oppose the application. The union sought to have the agreement approved as a safety net agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The legal issue for the FWC was whether the agreement met the criteria for approval as a safety net agreement, including whether it complied with the applicable minimum terms and conditions of employment.

The FWC found that the agreement met the criteria for approval. The union submitted that the agreement was consistent with the applicable minimum terms and conditions. The FWC considered that the agreement did not contain any terms that were less favourable than the applicable minimum terms and conditions. The FWC noted that the agreement contained terms that were more favourable than the applicable minimum terms and conditions, such as provisions for higher rates of pay and annual leave entitlements. The FWC was satisfied that the agreement was a safety net agreement and approved it as such.

The FWC ordered that the Lowood and District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Collective Agreement 2017 be approved as a safety net agreement. The agreement was approved as a safety net agreement from 1 July 2017. The FWC noted that the agreement would remain in force until it was superseded by a new agreement or until it was terminated in accordance with the Fair Work Act. The union and the association were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the approved agreement.

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