MQ Health Pty Limited T/A Macquarie University Hospital and MQ Health Clinics

[2021] FWCA 7141

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

MQ Health Pty Limited T/A Macquarie University Hospital and MQ Health Clinics
(AG2021/8337)

MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AND NSWNMA/ANMF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2021

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT CROSS	SYDNEY, 15 DECEMBER 2021

Application for approval of the Macquarie University Hospital and NSWNMA/ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2021

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Macquarie University Hospital and NSWNMA/ANMF Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by MQ Health Pty Limited. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this approval. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Macquarie University Hospital and MQ Health Clinics applied for approval of their 2021 enterprise agreement with the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission, which is the body responsible for approving enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act, particularly regarding the process by which the agreement was negotiated and the provisions contained within it.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and whether it contained appropriate terms and conditions. The Commission had to consider the process by which the agreement was reached, including whether the parties had genuinely bargained and whether the agreement reflected the outcome of that bargaining. The Commission also had to ensure that the agreement did not contain terms that were inconsistent with the national workplace relations system or that were otherwise contrary to public policy.

The Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and that it contained appropriate terms and conditions. The Commission was satisfied that the parties had genuinely bargained and that the agreement reflected the outcome of that bargaining. The Commission also found that the agreement did not contain any terms that were inconsistent with the national workplace relations system or that were otherwise contrary to public policy. The Commission therefore approved the agreement, which will now be binding on the parties and their employees.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Macquarie University Hospital and MQ Health Clinics' 2021 enterprise agreement with the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. The Commission found that the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and contained appropriate terms and conditions. The agreement is now binding on the parties and their employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established