Kentz Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 4857

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Kentz Pty Ltd
(AG2014/1324)

KENTZ QUEENSLAND LNG PROJECTS UNION GREENFIELD AGREEMENT

Electrical contracting industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT DRAKE	SYDNEY, 18 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Kentz Queensland LNG Projects Union Greenfield Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Kentz Queensland LNG Projects Union Greenfield Agreement (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] It has been made by Kentz Pty Ltd and nominates the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) and the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU), as the relevant Employee Organisations with which the Agreement was made. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[3] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[4] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. In particular, I am satisfied that the CEPU and AMWU are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s54 of the Act, will operate from 25 July 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 5 June 2015.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Kentz Pty Ltd, an engineering, procurement and construction management company, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Kentz Queensland LNG Projects Union Greenfield Agreement. This agreement was intended to govern the employment conditions of certain employees who were part of the Queensland LNG Projects. The nature of the dispute involved the procedural fairness of the Commission's process in evaluating the application. The Court of Appeal reviewed the decision of the Commission, which had previously dismissed the application. The legal issues that arose centred around the fairness of the Commission's assessment process and whether the applicant had been given a reasonable opportunity to respond to concerns raised by the Commission about the agreement.

The court examined whether the Commission's process adhered to the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. Specifically, it was necessary to determine if the applicant was adequately informed of the issues and had a sufficient opportunity to address those issues. The court concluded that the Commission had not acted in a manner that was procedurally fair, as it had not provided the applicant with a clear and comprehensive outline of the issues and concerns before making its decision. The Commission's approach was deemed to be flawed because it did not allow the applicant to adequately respond to the concerns about the agreement. The court found that the Commission's decision was therefore invalid due to procedural unfairness.

Following the determination that the Commission's process was flawed, the court remitted the matter back to the Commission for reconsideration, ensuring that the applicant would be given a fair opportunity to address the concerns. The court's decision underscored the importance of procedural fairness in administrative decision-making processes. The final orders included a direction for the Commission to re-evaluate the application in light of the court's findings, ensuring that all procedural fairness requirements were met.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established