NQSF Pty Ltd As the trustee for Fit 4 Fabrications Unit Trust T/A Fitzroy Fabrications Summary

[2013] FWCA 1725

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

NQSF Pty Ltd As the trustee for Fit 4 Fabrications Unit Trust T/A Fitzroy Fabrications
(AG2013/559)

FITZROY FABRICATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 20 MARCH 2013

Application for the approval of the Fitzroy Fabrications Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Fitzroy Fabrications Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by NQSF Pty Ltd As the trustee for Fit 4 Fabrications Unit Trust T/A Fitzroy Fabrications. The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 27 March 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 19 March 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

NQSF Pty Ltd, as trustee for the Fit 4 Fabrications Unit Trust trading as Fitzroy Fabrications, brought an application for the approval of the Fitzroy Fabrications Enterprise Agreement 2013. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, with the primary focus being on whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issue was whether the enterprise agreement contained all the mandatory terms required by section 235 of the Fair Work Act, and whether it met the good faith bargaining requirements set out in section 228 of the Act. The applicant argued that the agreement was comprehensive and had been negotiated in good faith, while the respondents contended that certain mandatory terms were missing and that the bargaining process was flawed.

The Commission found that the enterprise agreement did not include all the mandatory terms as required by section 235 of the Act. Furthermore, the evidence did not support the conclusion that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, as required by section 228 of the Act. The Commission was not satisfied that the applicant had fulfilled its obligations to bargain in good faith and provide full disclosure of relevant information to the respondents. As a result, the application for approval was dismissed.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the application for approval of the Fitzroy Fabrications Enterprise Agreement 2013 be dismissed. The Commission also directed the parties to continue negotiations in an effort to reach an agreement that complies with all legal requirements and has been negotiated in good faith.

NQSF Pty Ltd As the trustee for Fit 4 Fabrications Unit Trust T/A Fitzroy Fabrications

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established