DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Laminex Pty Ltd T/A Laminex
(AG2016/4412)

LAMINEX BRISBANE DISTRIBUTION CENTRE AGREEMENT 2016

Timber and paper products industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 12 AUGUST 2016

Application for approval of the Laminex Brisbane Distribution Centre Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Laminex Brisbane Distribution Centre Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Laminex Pty Ltd T/A Laminex. 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] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 19 August 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Laminex Pty Ltd, trading as Laminex, applied for the approval of the Laminex Brisbane Distribution Centre Agreement 2016. The dispute arose in the Fair Work Commission, the court responsible for regulating workplace relations in Australia. The agreement in question was intended to cover employees working at Laminex's Brisbane Distribution Centre, and the application sought to have the agreement registered as a Registered Organisation Agreement, which would give it legal force.

The central legal issues that the court needed to decide were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval and registration, and whether it complied with the principles of good faith bargaining and procedural fairness. The court considered whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, and whether it covered all the necessary matters as stipulated by the Fair Work Act. Additionally, the court examined if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

In its decision, the court found that the Laminex Brisbane Distribution Centre Agreement 2016 was indeed genuinely negotiated and met the statutory requirements. The court determined that the agreement was procedurally fair and that it was in the best interests of the employees. The court was satisfied that the agreement was not only negotiated in good faith but also adhered to the necessary principles and provisions of the Fair Work Act. As a result, the court approved the application for the agreement's registration.

The final orders of the court were that the Laminex Brisbane Distribution Centre Agreement 2016 be approved and registered as a Registered Organisation Agreement, effective from the date of the decision. The registration would ensure that the agreement would have legal effect and would govern the employment conditions of the employees at the Brisbane Distribution Centre.

Laminex Pty Ltd T/A Laminex

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established