Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association Summary

[2013] FWCA 8851

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association
(AG2013/11334)

INDOCHINESE ELDERLY REFUGEES ASSOCIATION AGED CARE EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMILTON	MELBOURNE, 11 NOVEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association Aged Care Employees Enterprise 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 Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association. 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 Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 18 November 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation 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.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The application before the Fair Work Commission was brought by the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association for approval of the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association Aged Care Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013. The Association sought to have the agreement approved under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009 as a low-paid enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for low-paid status, including whether the employees covered by the agreement were predominantly low-paid and whether the agreement provided for appropriate minimum rates of pay.

The key legal issue before the Commission was whether the employees covered by the agreement were predominantly low-paid. The Commission considered evidence on the hourly rates of pay of the employees and found that while some employees were low-paid, others were not. However, the Commission also considered the nature of the work performed by the employees and the context in which it was performed. The Commission found that the work was predominantly low-skilled and that the employees were predominantly low-paid in that context. The Commission also found that the agreement provided for appropriate minimum rates of pay and other conditions of employment.

Based on its findings, the Commission approved the agreement as a low-paid enterprise agreement. The Commission noted that the agreement provided for significant improvements in the rates of pay and conditions of employment for the employees, and that the improvements were appropriate in the circumstances. The Commission also noted that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that it met the other requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act. The Fair Work Commission's decision provides guidance on the application of the low-paid criteria in the context of aged care work, and highlights the importance of considering the nature of the work and the context in which it is performed when determining whether employees are predominantly low-paid.

Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established