Kalari Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 6761

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Kalari Pty Ltd
(AG2014/8926)

KALARI PTY LTD (CEDUNA WORKSHOP) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Manufacturing and associated industries
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT O'CALLAGHAN	ADELAIDE, 26 SEPTEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Kalari Pty Ltd (Ceduna Workshop) Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kalari Pty Ltd (Ceduna Workshop) Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Kalari Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was not lodged within 14 days after it was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b) of the Act, I consider it fair to extend the time for making this application to the actual date of lodgement.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 8 September 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Kalari Pty Ltd is a company involved in the operation of a workshop in Ceduna, South Australia, which is subject to the terms of an enterprise agreement. The matter before the court was an application by Kalari Pty Ltd to seek approval of the Kalari Pty Ltd (Ceduna Workshop) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The primary dispute centred on whether the agreement met the legal requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, an Australian federal statutory authority with jurisdiction over employment matters.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide included whether the enterprise agreement had been made in accordance with the legal provisions for such agreements, specifically whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it contained the necessary provisions as mandated by the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the court needed to consider whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirements and whether it provided for procedural fairness in its negotiation.

In rendering its decision, the court examined the negotiation process and the contents of the agreement to ensure compliance with statutory requirements. It found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees' representatives and that it contained all the necessary provisions as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. The court also determined that the agreement met the requirements for procedural fairness and good faith bargaining. Consequently, the court approved the Kalari Pty Ltd (Ceduna Workshop) Enterprise Agreement 2014. The final orders confirmed the approval of the agreement, allowing it to take effect from the specified date.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established