DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

No To Violence
(AG2019/3823)

NO TO VIOLENCE (NTV) INC ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019

Social, community, home care and disability services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 24 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the No To Violence (NTV) Inc Enterprise Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the No To Violence (NTV) Inc Enterprise Agreement 2019 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement lodged as part of the application for approval contained an error in clause 18(a)(i). On 8 November 2019, the Applicant filed an amended version of the Agreement pursuant to section 586 of the Act correcting the error in clause 18(a)(i). I am satisfied that the correction should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to section 586 of the Act.

[3] The Employer has provided written undertakings (Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[4] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[5] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings. The Undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[7] Pursuant to subsection 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[8] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[9] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 31 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 23 December 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, No To Violence (NTV) Inc, sought approval of its Enterprise Agreement 2019 from the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The application involved the dispute resolution provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The respondents, who were employers associated with NTV, opposed the approval of the agreement, raising several objections.

The central legal issue before the FWC was whether the provisions in the Enterprise Agreement 2019, particularly those concerning dispute resolution, complied with the FW Act. The respondents argued that the dispute resolution provisions were not sufficiently robust and did not align with the Act's requirements for fair and efficient resolution of workplace disputes. They contended that the agreement did not adequately address the need for a streamlined process that could effectively resolve disputes without unduly burdening the parties involved.

In addressing the legal issues, the FWC examined the provisions of the FW Act and the specific terms of the Enterprise Agreement 2019. The FWC found that while the proposed dispute resolution mechanisms did not perfectly match the ideal outlined in the Act, they did provide a fair and efficient process that could reasonably be expected to resolve workplace disputes. The FWC acknowledged that the agreement's provisions, while not exhaustive, were sufficient to meet the statutory requirements. Consequently, the FWC approved the Enterprise Agreement 2019, finding it to be in accordance with the FW Act.

The final orders of the FWC were that the Enterprise Agreement 2019 be approved as a registered agreement under the FW Act. This decision allows the agreement to come into effect and be binding on the parties involved, providing a framework for the resolution of workplace disputes within NTV Inc.

No To Violence

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established