Johnson Controls Australia Trading AS Johnson Controls Australia Pty Ltd Summary

[2025] FWCA 3464

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Johnson Controls Australia Trading AS Johnson Controls Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2025/3359)

JOHNSON CONTROLS PTY LTD SYDNEY SERVICE TECHNICIANS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025-2028

Manufacturing and associated industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 16 OCTOBER 2025

Application for approval of the Johnson Controls Pty Ltd Sydney Service Technicians Enterprise Agreement 2025-2028

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Johnson Controls Pty Ltd Sydney Service Technicians Enterprise Agreement 2025-2028 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Johnson Controls Australia Trading AS Johnson Controls Australia Pty Ltd (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Delegates’ Rights Term

The Agreement does not contain a delegates’ rights term, as required by s. 205A(1) of the Act. The Employer provided an undertaking to address this issue. Pursuant to the undertakings filed by the Employer and s.205A(2) of the Act, the workplace delegates’ rights term from the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Compassionate Leave

Clause 22.2 providing for compassionate leave is silent is relation to the entitlement to when the employee, their spouse, or de facto partner has a miscarriage or gives birth to a stillborn child. This may be inconsistent with s.104(1)(c) of the Act. The Employer provided an undertaking to address this issue.

Coverage of Employee Organisation(s)

The Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers this organisation.

Section 190 Undertakings

The Employer provided written undertakings to address the concerns identified by the Commission (see paragraphs [2] and [3] of this decision). A copy of these undertakings is attached in Appendix C of the Agreement. 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Conclusion

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, 193 and 193A of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 23 October 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 October 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

In the matter of Johnson Controls Australia Pty Ltd, the company sought approval for an enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission. The proposed agreement, Sydney Service Technicians Enterprise Agreement 2025-2028, aimed to regulate the employment terms and conditions of the service technicians in Sydney. The primary dispute involved whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly focusing on whether it facilitated the primary purpose of the Act, which is to provide for a fair and nationally consistent framework for the protection of workers' rights and for the promotion of workplace participation through cooperative employer-employee relations. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issue was whether the agreement was in the public interest and met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement provided for fair and nationally consistent terms and conditions, facilitated cooperative employer-employee relations, and was free from any terms that would undermine the primary purpose of the Act. Additionally, the Commission considered whether the agreement was made in good faith and whether it met the requirements of being a genuinely independent agreement.

The Commission found that the proposed agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act. The agreement was deemed to provide for fair and nationally consistent terms and conditions, facilitate cooperative employer-employee relations, and did not include any terms that would undermine the primary purpose of the Act. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was made in good faith and was genuinely independent, as it was negotiated between the employer and the union representing the employees. Therefore, the application for approval of the Sydney Service Technicians Enterprise Agreement 2025-2028 was approved by the Commission.

Johnson Controls Australia Trading AS Johnson Controls Australia Pty Ltd

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