Independent Education Union of Australia

[2014] FWCA 6645

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2014/8805)

ALEXANDRA-MOOLOOLABA COMMUNITY KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 30 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Alexandra-Mooloolaba Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Alexandra-Mooloolaba Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Independent Education Union of Australia.

[2] On the basis of the material before me, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act 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, will operate from 7 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2014.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application by the Independent Education Union of Australia (IEUA) for approval of the Alexandra-Mooloolaba Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2014. The dispute arose in the context of the Fair Work Act 2009, where the IEUA sought to have the agreement recognised as a registered agreement. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, the body established under the Act to oversee the registration and approval of such agreements.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to determine whether the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, whether it contained the mandatory terms specified by the Act, and whether it was in the best interests of the employees it covered. Additionally, the Commission examined whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether the appropriate procedures for its negotiation and conclusion were followed.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely an enterprise agreement, as it was made between the IEUA and the employer, the Alexandra-Mooloolaba Community Kindergarten. The agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Fair Work Act, and the Commission was satisfied that it was in the best interests of the employees. The Commission also concluded that the agreement was made in good faith and that the necessary procedures for its negotiation and conclusion were adhered to. Given these findings, the Commission approved the agreement as a registered agreement under the Act.

Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the Alexandra-Mooloolaba Community Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2014 as a registered agreement, effective from the date of the decision. This approval means that the terms of the agreement will apply to the employees covered by it, and it will be binding on both the employer and the employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established