Independent Education Union of Australia

[2013] FWCA 7446

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia
(AG2013/2828)

BARCALDINE KINDERGARTEN ASSOCIATION COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT 2013

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BISSETT	BRISBANE, 25 SEPTEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Barcaldine Kindergarten Association Collective Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Barcaldine Kindergarten Association Collective Agreement 2013 (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 – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch (IEU – Qld and NT Branch). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] 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 IEU – Qld and NT Branch, 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. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 2 October 2013. 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 Independent Education Union of Australia sought approval of the Barcaldine Kindergarten Association Collective Agreement 2013. The matter was heard by the Fair Work Commission, with the decision focusing on the union's application for the agreement to be made a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute arose from the Barcaldine Kindergarten Association's contention that the agreement should not be registered because it was not a genuine agreement between the union and the association.

The primary legal issue was whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether the union had the requisite membership in the relevant industrial award. The association argued that the agreement was not genuinely negotiated as it was imposed on the association by the union, and that the union did not have sufficient membership in the relevant industrial award to justify the agreement's registration.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that the union had sufficient membership to support the agreement's registration. The commission concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that the union had not genuinely negotiated the agreement or that it was imposed on the association. Furthermore, the commission held that the union's membership was sufficient to support the agreement's registration, as the union had a significant number of members within the relevant industrial award. Consequently, the commission approved the application for the agreement to be registered.

The Fair Work Commission's decision resulted in the registration of the Barcaldine Kindergarten Association Collective Agreement 2013 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act. The association's objections were dismissed, and the union's application was approved. The court found that the agreement met the statutory requirements for registration, and the union had sufficient membership to support the agreement's registration. This outcome ensures that the agreement will be recognised and enforceable under the Fair Work Act, providing a framework for the relationship between the union and the association.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established