National Tertiary Education Industry Union v The University of New South Wales T/A UNSW Australia

The case before the Fair Work Commission involved the National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) and the University of New South Wales Trading as UNSW Australia. The dispute centred on issues relating to the interpretation and application of the enterprise agreement between the parties. The NTEU brought the matter to the Fair Work Commission alleging that the University had breached the enterprise agreement by imposing changes to employees' conditions without proper consultation or negotiation. The University, in turn, argued that the changes were justified under the terms of the agreement or were otherwise lawful.

The key legal issues before the Commission were whether the University had the right to unilaterally impose changes to the employees' conditions and whether the changes were in accordance with the enterprise agreement. Specifically, the Commission had to determine whether the University had acted in accordance with the negotiation and consultation provisions of the agreement, and whether the changes were within the scope of the agreement's terms. Additionally, the Commission needed to consider whether the changes were reasonable and necessary in the context of the University's operations.

In delivering its decision, the Commission found that the University had indeed breached the enterprise agreement by imposing changes without proper consultation or negotiation. The Commission held that the University had failed to follow the negotiation and consultation provisions of the agreement, which required it to engage in good faith discussions with the NTEU before implementing any changes to the employees' conditions. The Commission also found that the changes imposed by the University were not within the scope of the agreement's terms and were therefore unlawful. As a result, the Commission ordered the University to reinstate the employees' conditions to their previous state and to engage in further negotiations with the NTEU to reach a new agreement. The University was also ordered to pay the NTEU's costs associated with the proceedings.