DECISION

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

K&S Freighters
(AG2018/1084)

K&S ENERGY DARWIN FUEL DRIVERS EMPLOYEES AGREEMENT 2017

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER MCKINNON	MELBOURNE, 24 JULY 2018

Application for approval of the K&S Energy Darwin Fuel Drivers Employees Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the K&S Energy Darwin Fuel Drivers Employees Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by K&S Freighters. 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 application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 31 July 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 March 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission was an application by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union for the approval of the K&S Energy Darwin Fuel Drivers Employees Agreement 2017. The application was brought pursuant to section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for being a single, intelligible, and portable workplace agreement as required by the Act. The respondents, K&S Energy, challenged the agreement on several grounds, including that it was not a single agreement, that it was not intelligible, and that it did not cover all employees within the agreed bargaining unit.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement was indeed a single, intelligible, and portable workplace agreement, and if it appropriately defined the bargaining unit and specified the employees covered. The Commission had to determine whether the agreement met the legal requirements under the Fair Work Act and if it was consistent with the provisions of the Act regarding workplace agreements. Additionally, the Commission needed to assess if the application complied with the procedural requirements as outlined in the Fair Work Regulations 2009.

In its decision, the Commission found that the agreement was a single, intelligible, and portable workplace agreement. It concluded that the agreement was appropriately drafted and covered all employees within the specified bargaining unit. The Commission noted that the agreement contained clear and specific terms that were easy to understand, and it was portable in the sense that it could be applied across multiple workplaces. The application met all the necessary procedural and substantive requirements under the Act, and therefore, the Commission approved the agreement. The decision highlighted the importance of clarity and inclusivity in drafting workplace agreements to ensure they meet the statutory standards set by the Fair Work Act.

The final orders of the Commission were to approve the K&S Energy Darwin Fuel Drivers Employees Agreement 2017, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was to be registered on the Register of Workplace Agreements maintained by the Commission. The approval was subject to the terms and conditions set out in the agreement and the Fair Work Act.

K&S Freighters

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established