Menulog Pty Ltd

The Fair Work Commission was asked to decide whether to make a new modern award for the on-demand delivery services industry. The application was brought by Menulog Pty Ltd, a company operating in the food delivery industry. The Commission had to decide if the industry needed a new award, and if so, what its scope and content should be. The decision involved considering existing awards and whether they adequately covered the industry's employers and employees.

The main legal issues were whether the Fast Food Industry Award 2010 and the Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 covered the on-demand delivery services industry, and if not, whether the industry needed a new award or if an existing one could be varied to cover it. The Commission also had to determine if the Miscellaneous Award 2020 provided a fair and relevant safety net for the industry's employers and employees. The Transport Workers’ Union proposed that the coverage of existing awards should be a threshold issue, which the Commission agreed with, indicating it would frame the issues for the full bench.

The Commission accepted the Transport Workers’ Union's proposal that determining the coverage of existing awards was a threshold issue. The decision noted that if the on-demand delivery services industry was not covered by the Fast Food Award or the Road Transport Award, then the Miscellaneous Award would apply. The Commission directed that interested parties and Menulog submit clarifications, evidence, and submissions regarding the threshold issue by specific dates, and scheduled a mention and oral hearing to address these matters. Submissions were to be filed in Word and PDF formats and sent to a specified email address. The parties were also granted the liberty to apply to vary the directions.

The Commission's final orders included the directions for the interested parties and Menulog to file notes, evidence, and submissions by specified dates, and scheduled the mention and oral hearing. This ensured that the threshold issue of award coverage would be resolved before further proceedings on the need for a new award or variations to existing awards.