Park Engineers Pty Ltd As Trustee For The D'Amato Business Trust

[2025] FWCA 3347

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s 185—Enterprise agreement

Park Engineers Pty Ltd As Trustee For The D’Amato Business Trust

(AG2025/3083)

PARK ENGINEERS PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER LIM	PERTH, 6 OCTOBER 2025

Application for approval of the Park Engineers Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2025

Park Engineers Pty Ltd As Trustee For The D’Amato Business Trust (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Park Engineers Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant 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.

In compliance with s 190(4) of the Act, the bargaining representatives’ views regarding the undertakings proffered were sought. They were provided with the opportunity to raise and address any objections they had to the undertakings proffered by the Applicant. No objection was raised.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188, and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

I note that the following clauses in the Agreement appear to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (the NES):

(a)Clause 16 of the Agreement, which provides how annual leave accrues in the Agreement, is inconsistent with s 87(2) of the Act where annual leave accrues progressively.
(b)Clause 17 of the Agreement, which provides how personal leave accrues in the Agreement, is inconsistent with the s 96 (2) of the Act where personal leave accrues progressively.
(c)Clause 20 of the Agreement contains an exhaustive list of public holidays that employees are entitled to but does not provide an entitlement to any other day or part-day declared or prescribed to be observed within a State or Territory, as provided by s 115(1)(b) of the Act.
(d)Clause 18 provides for compassionate leave where a member of the Employee's immediate family or household dies or suffers a life-threatening illness or injury. However, it does not provide for compassionate leave where a child is stillborn or the employees spouse or de facto partner has a miscarriage per s 104 of the Act.

However, I am satisfied that under clause 4.3 of the Agreement, the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Agreement does not contain a delegates’ rights term, as required by s 205A(1) of the Act. Under s 205A(2), the workplace delegates’ rights term in Clause 40A of the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement was approved on 6 October 2025 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 13 October 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 6 October 2029.

COMMISSIONER

ANNEXURE A

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Park Engineers Pty Ltd, acting as trustee for the D'Amato Business Trust, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of an Enterprise Agreement dated 2025. The application involved various provisions concerning employment conditions, pay rates, and other terms and conditions of employment for the employees of Park Engineers. The dispute centred on whether the provisions of the proposed agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the requisite processes under the Act.

The primary legal issues that the Commission was required to decide included whether the agreement had been made genuinely and freely by the employees, whether the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms, and whether the agreement complied with the good faith bargaining requirement. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement provided for adequate employee protections, including minimum rates of pay, leave entitlements, and other employment conditions.

In its decision, the Commission considered the evidence provided by both parties and examined the terms of the proposed agreement. The Commission determined that the agreement had been made genuinely and in good faith, and that it contained all the required minimum terms. The Commission also found that the agreement provided adequate protections for employees and was consistent with the objectives of the Fair Work Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the Park Engineers Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2025, noting that it met the legal requirements and provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment for the employees of Park Engineers.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established