Origin Energy People Services Pty Ltd Summary

[2025] FWCA 3517

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Origin Energy People Services Pty Ltd

(AG2025/3305)

ORIGIN ENERGY (MELBOURNE RETAIL) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Electrical power industry
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 22 OCTOBER 2025

Application for approval of the Origin Energy (Melbourne Retail) Enterprise Agreement 2025

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Origin Energy (Melbourne Retail) Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Origin Energy People Services Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I note that the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) was not provided in the correct form. The NERR contained a minor difference in the title for the Agreement to the one noted above. However, I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error, that the employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error, and the error may be disregarded pursuant to s.188(5) of the Act.

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 Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in ss.186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union 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, will operate from 29 October 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 August 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Origin Energy People Services Pty Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Origin Energy (Melbourne Retail) Enterprise Agreement 2025. The Fair Work Commission, presided over by Deputy President G McDougall, was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The legal issues that needed to be resolved were whether the agreement was genuinely a product of genuine agreement between the parties and if it complied with the provisions of the Act. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement included the minimum terms and conditions set out in the relevant award and if it provided for a fair and reasonable workplace.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was genuinely a product of genuine agreement between the parties, and it complied with the provisions of the Act. The court examined the process of bargaining and the extent to which the agreement reflected the outcomes of that process. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the parties had engaged in a genuine process of negotiation. The court also found that the agreement included the minimum terms and conditions set out in the relevant award and provided for a fair and reasonable workplace. The Fair Work Commission concluded that the agreement met the requirements of the Act and approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission made an order approving the Origin Energy (Melbourne Retail) Enterprise Agreement 2025, effective from 1 July 2025, until 30 June 2030. The Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Act and provided for a fair and reasonable workplace. The agreement was approved on the basis that it included the minimum terms and conditions set out in the relevant award and provided for a fair and reasonable workplace. The Commission also noted that the agreement reflected the outcomes of a genuine process of negotiation between the parties.

Origin Energy People Services Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established