QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics

[2025] FWCA 524

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

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

QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics

(AG2024/5282)

QUBE LOGISTICS (QLD) PTY LTD BRISBANE EMPTY CONTAINER PARK ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER DURHAM	BRISBANE, 10 FEBRUARY 2025

Application for approval of the QUBE LOGISTICS (QLD) PTY LTD BRISBANE EMPTY CONTAINER PARK ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the QUBE LOGISTICS (QLD) PTY LTD BRISBANE EMPTY CONTAINER PARK 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 QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the TWU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2026.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court involved QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd, trading as QUBE Logistics, which sought approval for the QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd Brisbane Empty Container Park Enterprise Agreement 2023. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with regulating and approving enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the proposed agreement complied with the legal standards set out in the Act, including whether it contained the necessary provisions for employee protection and whether it was certified as 'no disadvantage' by the relevant authority.

The central legal issues that the court needed to address were whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval, particularly in terms of the 'no disadvantage' test. This involved scrutinising whether the proposed conditions of employment under the agreement were not less favourable than the applicable awards or registered agreements, and whether any individual terms of the agreement would cause an employee to be worse off. The court also needed to consider whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated and whether the necessary procedural requirements had been met, including the provision of relevant information to the employees.

The court examined the details of the proposed agreement and the evidence presented by QUBE Logistics regarding the negotiation process and the 'no disadvantage' certification. It found that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that the 'no disadvantage' test had been met, as the conditions proposed were not less favourable than the applicable awards or other registered agreements. The court also confirmed that the necessary procedural requirements had been satisfied, including the provision of relevant information to the employees. As a result, the court approved the application for the QUBE Logistics (QLD) Pty Ltd Brisbane Empty Container Park Enterprise Agreement 2023, finding it to be compliant with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established