DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

OneCare Pty Ltd T/A OneCare Limited
(AG2019/290)

ONECARE LTD GENERAL STAFF AGREEMENT 2018

Social, community, home care and disability services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT YOUNG	MELBOURNE, 17 JULY 2019

Application for approval of the OneCare Ltd General Staff Agreement 2018.

[1] OneCare Pty Ltd (the Employer) has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as OneCare Ltd General Staff Agreement 2018 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the Agreement was made. The Employer provided submissions to the Commission on 14 May 2019 as to the explanation for the late lodgment. On the basis of that material, pursuant to s.185(3)(b) of the Act, in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application, the accompanying statutory declaration, and the further material provided by the Employer, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[5] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s 183 of the Act that they seek to be covered by the Agreement. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declarations provided by the organisations, I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 17 July 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 24 July 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

OneCare Pty Ltd, trading as OneCare Limited, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the OneCare Ltd General Staff Agreement 2018. The application was brought under section 234 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which allows for the registration of an enterprise agreement that is intended to be a safety net agreement. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions set out in the agreement and whether they complied with the statutory requirements for such agreements.

The central legal issues before the Commission were whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for registration as a safety net agreement, including whether it provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions, and whether it was consistent with the relevant awards and the National Employment Standards. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirement and if it was otherwise fair and reasonable.

In its decision, the Commission found that the OneCare Ltd General Staff Agreement 2018 met the necessary criteria for registration as a safety net agreement. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for minimum rates of pay and conditions that were not less favourable than those specified in the relevant awards and the National Employment Standards. The Commission also determined that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining and was fair and reasonable in all its terms. Consequently, the Commission approved the application and registered the agreement.

OneCare Pty Ltd T/A OneCare Limited

DECISION

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established