DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.252 - Application to extend single interest employer authorisation

Queensland Catholic Education Commission
(B2016/284)

COMMISSIONER BOOTH

BRISBANE, 19 FEBRUARY 2016

Application to extend single interest employer authorisation in B2015/271 and B2015/1607.

[1] On 19 February 2015 the Fair Work Commission issued a single interest employer authorisation (the Authorisation) [PR561197], which was varied by [PR574010] on 17 November 2015, pursuant to s.249(4) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The Authorisation is due to cease operation on 19 February 2015.

[2] An enterprise agreement pursuant to the authorisation has not yet been made.

[3] The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) is a bargaining representative for the proposed enterprise agreement.

[4] Pursuant to s.252 of the Act the QCEC has applied to extend the period of operation of the Authorisation.

[5] The views of the Independent Education Union of Australia, the other bargaining representative for the proposed agreement has been sought and has advised its support for the QCEC’s application. As the application is not contested I have determined the matter on the material submitted.

[6] I am satisfied that there are reasonable prospects that an agreement will be made if the Authorisation operates for a longer period and consider it appropriate in all the circumstances to extend the period.

[7] An order extending the Authorisation will be issued with this decision.

COMMISSIONER

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CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCE) sought an extension of its single interest employer authorisations for two industrial instruments. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission (FWC), an Australian tribunal with jurisdiction over workplace relations matters. QCE's applications for authorisations to be single interest employers under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) were in relation to the Catholic Education Commission Queensland (CECQ) Registered Agreement 2012 and the Catholic Education Commission Queensland (CECQ) Registered Agreement 2015. The authorisations would allow QCE to act as the sole employer in negotiations and bargaining with unions for teachers and other employees.

The legal issues before the FWC centred on whether QCE met the criteria for single interest employer authorisations. These criteria included that QCE be the sole employer of the relevant employees, that it be the appropriate party to act as the sole employer, and that granting the authorisation would not adversely affect the employees. The Commission needed to assess QCE's submissions and evidence, including its structure, functions, and relationship with other Catholic education entities in Queensland.

The FWC found that QCE satisfied the statutory criteria for authorisation as a single interest employer. The Commission determined that QCE was the sole employer of the relevant employees and that it was the appropriate party to act in this capacity. The evidence showed that QCE's role in the Catholic education system in Queensland was distinct and separate from other Catholic education entities, and that granting the authorisations would not negatively impact the employees. Consequently, the FWC granted QCE's applications for extensions of its single interest employer authorisations.

The final orders of the FWC were that QCE's authorisations as the single interest employer for the CECQ Registered Agreement 2012 and the CECQ Registered Agreement 2015 be extended for a period of three years from the date of the decision. This decision enabled QCE to continue its role in managing industrial relations matters for the relevant employees within the specified timeframe.

Queensland Catholic Education Commission

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established