Newcastle Jockey Club Limited

[2014] FWCA 5147

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Newcastle Jockey Club Limited
(AG2014/6803)

NEWCASTLE JOCKEY CLUB CASUAL BARRIER ATTENDANTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Racing industry
COMMISSIONER STANTON	NEWCASTLE, 30 JULY 2014

Application for approval of the Newcastle Jockey Club Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as
the Newcastle Jockey Club Casual Barrier Attendants 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 Newcastle Jockey Club Limited. 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 Australian Workers’ Union - Newcastle, Central Coast and Northern Regions Branch, 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and in accordance with s.54 of the Act, shall operate on and from 6 August 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is30 June 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Newcastle Jockey Club Limited applied for approval of the Newcastle Jockey Club Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission, which was required to determine whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms prescribed by section 235 of the Act. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was made in accordance with the requirements of the Act. This involved assessing whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated and not made under duress or coercion, and whether it complied with procedural fairness and good faith bargaining principles.

The Commission found that the agreement contained all the necessary mandatory terms and was genuinely negotiated in compliance with the Act. The Commission concluded that the agreement was made without any undue influence or coercion and was in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining. Consequently, the application for approval of the agreement was successful.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Newcastle Jockey Club Casual Barrier Attendants Enterprise Agreement 2014, thereby resolving the application for approval. The agreement is now registered and enforceable under the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established