DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch
(AG2015/6264)

MOURILYAN & DISTRICT KINDERGARTEN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Educational services
COMMISSIONER ROE	SYDNEY, 15 DECEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the Mourilyan & District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Mourilyan & District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2015 (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. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] Mourilyan & District Kindergarten Association T/A Mourilyan & District Kindergarten 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, 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 15 December 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 22 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch applied for the approval of the Mourilyan & District Kindergarten Early Childhood Education Enterprise Agreement 2015. The union sought to have the agreement, which it had negotiated with the employer, recognised and approved under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the procedural fairness of the negotiation process and whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval.

The legal issues before the Commission involved assessing whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the Fair Work Act and whether it satisfied the requirements for approval, including being made without coercion, discrimination, or other unfair tactics. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement was likely to provide for fair and equitable terms and conditions for the employees covered by it.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was made in a procedurally fair manner and met all the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission concluded that the agreement was likely to provide for fair and equitable terms and conditions for the employees. It found that the agreement was made without any coercion, discrimination, or other unfair tactics. The Commission approved the agreement, and it now has the force of a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

Independent Education Union of Australia – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established