Linde Material Handling Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 2713

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

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

Linde Material Handling Pty Ltd

(AG2025/2475)

AMWU & LINDE MATERIAL HANDLING PTY LTD (VICTORIA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER PERICA	MELBOURNE, 14 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of the AMWU & LINDE MATERIAL HANDLING PTY LTD (VICTORIA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the AMWU & LINDE MATERIAL HANDLING PTY LTD (VICTORIA) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025 (the Agreement). The application is made under section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

Subject to the undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188, 190, 193 and 193A relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in sections 186(3) and (3A), I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

The “Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union” known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement has given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. I therefore note the Agreement covers the organisation under section 201(2) of the Act.

The Agreement is approved today 14 August 2025. It will operate from 21 August 2025 as required by section 54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date is 30 June 2028.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved an application by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and Linde Material Handling Pty Ltd for the approval of their Enterprise Agreement 2025. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which is responsible for overseeing the approval and enforcement of enterprise agreements in Australia. The primary dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was fair and reasonable for the employees covered by it.

The legal issues that the FWC had to address included whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by the Act, whether it had been genuinely agreed upon by the parties, and whether it was fair and reasonable in terms of its provisions and the process through which it was negotiated. The FWC also considered whether the agreement provided adequate protections for employees' rights and interests, including provisions related to minimum wages, leave entitlements, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

In its decision, the FWC found that the Enterprise Agreement 2025 met all the legal requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement included all the mandatory terms, and the FWC was satisfied that it had been genuinely negotiated and agreed upon by the AMWU and Linde Material Handling Pty Ltd. The FWC noted that the agreement provided reasonable protections for employees' rights and interests, and it approved the agreement. The FWC emphasised the importance of the agreement's provisions for minimum wages, leave entitlements, and dispute resolution mechanisms, and it was satisfied that these provisions were fair and reasonable.

The final orders of the FWC were that the Enterprise Agreement 2025 between the AMWU and Linde Material Handling Pty Ltd be approved and registered under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was to be in effect from the date of the FWC's decision, and it would govern the employment terms and conditions of the employees covered by it. The FWC also ordered that the agreement be published on its website to ensure transparency and accessibility for all interested parties.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established