James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 386

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2012/13179)

JAMES HARDIE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD CONCRETE PIPES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 25 JANUARY 2013

Application for approval of the James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd Concrete Pipes Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd Concrete Pipes Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd. 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 Australian Workers’ Union of Employees, Queensland and the “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 1 February 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 24 January 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd as the applicant, seeking approval of the James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd Concrete Pipes Enterprise Agreement 2012. The dispute was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and focused on the process and compliance of the enterprise agreement with relevant legislative and regulatory standards. The application for approval was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which mandates that certain agreements must be approved by the FWC before they can have legal effect.

The central legal issues before the court involved whether the enterprise agreement met the requirements for direct registration under the Fair Work Act and whether the process by which the agreement was formed was compliant with the necessary statutory provisions. Specifically, the court needed to determine if the agreement was genuinely negotiated, free from any undue influence or coercion, and if it covered the requisite minimum terms and conditions of employment. Additionally, the court examined whether the application for approval was made within the specified timeframe and whether the agreement complied with the substantive and procedural requirements set out in the legislation.

In its reasoning, the FWC noted that the application for approval was made within the requisite timeframe and that the agreement appeared to cover all the necessary minimum terms and conditions. The court found that the agreement was the product of genuine negotiations and was free from undue influence. The FWC was satisfied that the process by which the agreement was formed was procedurally sound and that the substantive provisions of the agreement were fair and reasonable. Consequently, the FWC approved the application for the agreement's direct registration.

The FWC's final order was that the James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd Concrete Pipes Enterprise Agreement 2012 be approved and registered as a direct registration agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision meant that the agreement would have legal effect and be binding on the parties involved from the date of approval.

James Hardie Australia Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established