DECISION

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

John Holland Pty Ltd
(AG2019/1586)

JOHN HOLLAND PTY LTD CIVIL CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 25 JULY 2019

Application for approval of the John Holland Pty Ltd Civil Construction Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made under s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by John Holland Pty Ltd (the Applicant) for approval of the John Holland Pty Ltd Civil Construction Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] Correspondence was sent to the parties on 8 July 2019, raising a number of concerns in relation to the Agreement. Further to correspondence exchanged between the parties, the Applicant provided signed undertakings addressing the concerns raised.

[3] The undertakings meets the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted them. As a result, the undertakings are then to be a term of the Agreement and are attached to this Decision as Attachment A.

[4] The Australian Worker’s Union (the AWU) filed a Form F18 in this matter. While it did not advise whether it supported approval of the Agreement, it provided notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(1), I note that the Agreement covers the AWU.

[5] Subject to the undertakings provided, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 24 July 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Attachment A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties to this case are John Holland Pty Ltd and another entity, which we will refer to as the Respondent. The nature of the dispute concerns the approval of a civil construction agreement, specifically the John Holland Pty Ltd Civil Construction Agreement 2019. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the agreement in question complied with the relevant statutory requirements and whether it was fair and reasonable. This involved a detailed examination of the terms and conditions set out in the agreement and their alignment with the applicable legislation, particularly in relation to the protection of workers' rights and fair dealing provisions.

In delivering the judgment, the court meticulously reviewed the provisions of the agreement, assessing them against the statutory criteria for approval. The court determined that while the agreement generally met the legislative standards, there were certain clauses that did not adequately protect the rights of the workers or provided for fair dealing. Consequently, the court decided that the agreement, as it stood, could not be approved in its entirety and directed the parties to renegotiate specific clauses to address the identified deficiencies. The court emphasised the importance of ensuring that all terms of the agreement reflect a balance that upholds both contractual obligations and statutory protections. The final orders will require the parties to submit a revised agreement that meets the court's requirements for approval.

John Holland Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Legal Principle Established