DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Inspector-General of Taxation
(AG2015/7591)

INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015-2018

Commonwealth employment
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 6 JANUARY 2016

Application for approval of the Inspector-General of Taxation Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Inspector-General of Taxation Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Inspector-General of Taxation. 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 was approved on 6 January 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 January 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 January 2019.

COMMISSIONER

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In this case, the applicants sought approval from the Fair Work Commission for the Inspector-General of Taxation Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018. The Inspector-General of Taxation (the IGOT) is a statutory office holder with a role that is both investigative and quasi-judicial, and the dispute centred around the classification and subsequent pay rates of certain employees within this office. The Commission was required to determine whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, including ensuring that the terms and conditions of employment were fair and reasonable.

The key legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed agreement appropriately balanced the rights and interests of the employees with the need for the IGOT to effectively carry out its duties. This involved examining the classification of roles within the office, particularly those that had a dual nature involving both quasi-judicial and investigative functions, and determining if the proposed pay rates were commensurate with these roles. The Commission had to ensure that the agreement did not undermine the integrity of the IGOT’s quasi-judicial functions while also providing fair and reasonable terms for the employees.

The Commission determined that the proposed agreement was fair and reasonable. It found that the classification of roles and the associated pay rates appropriately reflected the dual nature of the employees' duties, balancing both the investigative and quasi-judicial aspects of their work. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for adequate safeguards to maintain the integrity of the quasi-judicial functions, while also ensuring that the employees received fair compensation for their roles. Consequently, the Commission approved the enterprise agreement, recognising the unique nature of the IGOT’s role and the need to accommodate the dual functions of its employees.

The final orders of the Commission were that the Inspector-General of Taxation Enterprise Agreement 2015-2018 be approved as a registered agreement under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be registered from the date of the Commission’s decision, providing a legal framework for the employment conditions of the IGOT’s staff for the specified period.

Inspector-General of Taxation

DECISION

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Legal Principle Established