Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd T/A Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 44

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd T/A Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/4313)

KOMATSU AUSTRALIA VICTORIAN SERVICE & ASSEMBLY DEPARTMENTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER FOX	MELBOURNE, 10 JANUARY 2025

Application for approval of the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2024.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Komatsu Australia Victorian Service & Assembly Departments Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. For the purposes of the better off overall test, I have had regard to each of the matters in s.193A(2)-(7).

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement supports the approval of the Agreement and has given 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 that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved, and in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 17 January 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Komatsu Australia Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Enterprise Agreement it had negotiated with its employees in Victoria. The application was brought before the Fair Work Commission, which was required to determine whether the agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The Fair Work Commission had to consider if the agreement provided for minimum pay rates, entitlements, and conditions that complied with the relevant federal laws, and whether it was free from any illegality, coercion, or undue influence.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement adequately covered the stipulated minimum terms and conditions, and whether it had been made in a procedurally fair manner. The Commission considered the fairness of the negotiation process, the content of the agreement, and whether it contained any unlawful terms. The applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement was made without any coercion or undue influence, and that it provided for the prescribed minimum terms and conditions set out in the Fair Work Act 2009.

In reaching its decision, the Fair Work Commission examined the negotiation process and the content of the agreement. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, without any coercion or undue influence, and that it provided for the minimum terms and conditions required by law. The Commission found that the agreement met all the necessary criteria and approved it. The Commission's approval was based on the applicant's demonstration that the agreement was fair and in compliance with the relevant federal laws.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement, noting that it provided for the minimum terms and conditions as required by law, and had been negotiated in a fair and lawful manner. The Commission's approval was final and binding, and the agreement became effective as of the date of the Commission's decision.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established