K&S Freighters Pty Ltd Summary

[2025] FWCA 1756

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

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

K&S Freighters Pty Ltd

(AG2025/1331)

K&S FREIGHTERS PTY LTD TRANSPORT EMPLOYEES’ & TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION (QUEENSLAND) AGREEMENT 2024

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER DURHAM	BRISBANE, 27 MAY 2025

Application for approval of the K&S Freighters Pty Ltd Transport Employees’ & Transport Workers’ Union (Queensland) Agreement 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the K&S Freighters Pty Ltd Transport Employees’ & Transport Workers’ Union (Queensland) Agreement 2024 (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 Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the TWU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

K&S Freighters Pty Ltd, represented by its principal officer, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Transport Employees' & Transport Workers' Union (Queensland) Agreement 2024. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, seeking to have the proposed agreement registered as a greenfields agreement. The nature of the dispute was whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for such approval, including whether it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions.

The central legal issues before the commission were whether the agreement contained all the mandated terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act, and if it was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the union. The commission also considered whether the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its aspects and whether it provided for appropriate mechanisms for dispute resolution.

The commission found that the agreement did indeed contain all the mandated terms and conditions and was the product of genuine negotiations. It held that the agreement was fair and reasonable in all its aspects, taking into account the economic context and the interests of both parties. The commission was satisfied that the proposed dispute resolution mechanisms were appropriate and would facilitate the resolution of any future disputes in an efficient manner. As such, the application was approved, and the agreement was registered as a greenfields agreement.

The final orders of the commission were that the Transport Employees' & Transport Workers' Union (Queensland) Agreement 2024 be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to take effect from the date of registration, and the parties were directed to comply with all its terms and conditions. The commission also ordered that any disputes arising from the agreement would be resolved in accordance with the mechanisms provided within the agreement itself.

K&S Freighters Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established