DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Networking Health Victoria Ltd T/A Networking Health Victoria
(AG2014/8126)

NETWORKING HEALTH VICTORIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMILTON	MELBOURNE, 8 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Networking Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Networking Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Networking Health Victoria Ltd t/a Networking Health Victoria. 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] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 15 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 September 2017.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Networking Health Victoria Ltd, trading as Networking Health Victoria, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Networking Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was contested by the Health Services Union of Australia (HSUA), which argued that the agreement did not meet the statutory requirements for approval. The primary dispute centred around whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated and if it provided adequate protections and benefits for the employees covered by it.

The court was required to determine whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the employer and the union, as mandated by the Fair Work Act 2009. Additionally, the court had to assess whether the agreement complied with the statutory minimum standards outlined in the Act, including provisions related to wages, hours of work, and other conditions of employment. The court also needed to consider if the agreement contained terms that were inconsistent with or in addition to the relevant awards or agreements.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement had been fairly negotiated and met all the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission noted that the union had actively participated in the negotiation process and that the agreement contained terms that were no less favourable than those provided by the relevant awards. The Commission further determined that the agreement provided adequate protections and benefits for the employees and did not contain any terms that were inconsistent with or in addition to the relevant awards or agreements. Consequently, the application for approval was granted.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Networking Health Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2014, effective from the date of the decision. The Commission's approval was based on the finding that the agreement had been fairly negotiated and complied with the statutory requirements for approval. The union's objections were dismissed, and the agreement was approved as a registered enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Networking Health Victoria Ltd T/A Networking Health Victoria

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established