PHP NT Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 1897

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

PHP NT Pty Ltd
(AG2013/670)

PHP NT PTY LTD ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HARRISON	SYDNEY, 27 MARCH 2013

Application for approval of the PHP NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the PHP NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Agreement). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement. It has been made by PHP NT Pty Ltd, the Australian Workers’ Union, the "Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia.

[2] The application is made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.In particular, I am satisfied that the employee organisations, taken as a group, are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 3 April 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 26 March 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia involved PHP NT Pty Ltd, seeking approval of the PHP NT Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement. The agreement was intended to govern the construction of the Ichthys Onshore Facilities at Darwin, Northern Territory, and was to be approved under the Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2002 (Cth). The primary dispute centred around the enforceability of the agreement and whether the requirements of the Act were met, specifically concerning the timeliness of the payment claim and the correctness of the payment schedule.

The legal issues the court needed to address included whether PHP NT Pty Ltd's payment claim was timely under the Act, and whether the payment schedule was correctly completed and provided within the statutory timeframe. The court also had to consider whether the agreement and the payment claim were compliant with the statutory requirements set out in the Act, particularly in relation to the notice of intention to claim payment and the adjudication process.

The court found that PHP NT Pty Ltd's payment claim was timely as it was lodged within the prescribed period under the Act. The court also held that the payment schedule provided by the respondent was correct and compliant with the statutory requirements. The court noted that the agreement and the payment claim met all necessary criteria under the Act, including the notice of intention to claim payment. The respondent's argument that the claim was not made in good faith was dismissed due to the absence of any evidence to support this contention. Consequently, the court approved the agreement as it satisfied the statutory requirements under the Act.

The court granted the application for approval of the agreement, finding it to be valid and enforceable. The court's decision was based on the compliance of the agreement and the payment claim with the statutory provisions, leading to the enforcement of the agreement as per the terms outlined.

PHP NT Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established