DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2016/6821)

TARUMBAL KINDERGARTEN ASSOCIATION INC. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Educational services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	SYDNEY, 16 DECEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the Tarumbal Kindergarten Association Inc. Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Tarumbal Kindergarten Association Inc. Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Independent Education Union of Australia. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 23 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved the Independent Education Union of Australia as the applicant seeking approval for the Tarumbal Kindergarten Association Inc. Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2016. The Tarumbal Kindergarten Association Inc. was the respondent. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the necessary standards for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the application sought to ensure the agreement was free from provisions that would have a detrimental effect on the employees.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the agreement contained provisions that contravened the proscriptions under section 235 of the Fair Work Act, which prohibits certain types of provisions in enterprise agreements, and whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirements under section 227 of the Act. The court also had to consider if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, as required by section 228 of the Act.

In examining the application, the court found that the proposed agreement did not contain any provisions that were contrary to the provisions of the Fair Work Act. It was determined that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and met the requirements of the Act. The court noted that the agreement was beneficial to the employees, providing them with fair and reasonable terms of employment. Therefore, the application was approved, and the agreement was registered. The court's decision was based on a thorough analysis of the content of the agreement, the bargaining process, and its alignment with the statutory requirements.

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