Nvc Operations Pty Ltd T/A Bamganie Pets Cremation Service

[2024] FWCA 2799

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Nvc Operations Pty Ltd T/A Bamganie Pets Cremation Service

(AG2024/2289)

NVC OPERATIONS BAMGANIE STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Waste management industry
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 30 JULY 2024

Application for approval of the NVC Operations Bamganie Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the NVC Operations Bamganie Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Nvc Operations Pty Ltd T/A Bamganie Pets Cremation Service. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The notification time for the Agreement under s.173(2) was 18 March 2024 and the Agreement was made on 7 June 2024. Accordingly, both the genuine agreement and the better off overall test requirements are those applying on and from 6 June 2023.[1]

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188, 193 and 193A as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia, 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.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 6 August 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 6 August 2027.

COMMISSIONER

ANNEXURE A

[1] The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) made a number of changes to enterprise agreement approval processes in Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act. Those changes broadly commenced operation on 6 June 2023, subject to various transitional arrangements which are not applicable to the present application.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application for the approval of the NVC Operations Bamganie Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023. The applicant, NVC Operations Pty Ltd trading as Bamganie Pets Cremation Service, sought the commission's approval of the enterprise agreement to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was made in accordance with the procedural requirements set out in the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Regulations 2012.

The central legal issues that the commission had to address were whether the agreement complied with the mandatory requirements under the Fair Work Act, including the provisions relating to the minimum terms and conditions, and whether the agreement had been fairly and genuinely negotiated. Specifically, the commission examined whether the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and conditions, whether the agreement had been properly certified as a simple greenfields agreement, and whether there was evidence of genuine bargaining between the parties.

The Fair Work Commission concluded that the application for approval was valid and that the Bamganie Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023 complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. The commission found that the agreement contained all the mandatory terms and conditions, that it was properly certified as a simple greenfields agreement, and that there was evidence of genuine bargaining between the parties. The commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the process was free from any undue influence or coercion.

The commission approved the Bamganie Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023, effective from the date of the decision. The agreement was registered, and the parties were directed to take all necessary steps to give effect to the agreement. The decision was made in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Regulations 2012.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established