Quora Property Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Sandgate Summary

[2024] FWCA 1133

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Quora Property Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Sandgate

(AG2024/704)

QUORA PROPERTY PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Real estate industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DOBSON	BRISBANE, 28 MARCH 2024

Application for approval of the Quora Property Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2024

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Quora Property Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Quora Property Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Agreement in its scope clause includes an additional entity (employees of Aspley Property Partners Pty Ltd). The Applicant has provided submissions that this was an error. I note it is not referred to in any other part of the Enterprise Agreement and/or its accompanying material including the Ballot Instructions and explanatory information. The Applicant has provided an undertaking to correct this error. I am satisfied that in this matter it amounts to a minor technical error and that the employees were unlikely to have been disadvantaged by this error and that the agreement has been genuinely agreed to by the employees covered by the Agreement. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(5) of the Act.[1]

The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

Pursuant to s.190(3) of the Act, I accept the undertakings.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, having regard to the Statement of Principles,[2] on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, 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.

Noting the undertakings provided, the precedence term at clause 1.3.3 and on the basis of the materials before the Commission, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES in the Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 27 March 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

[1] Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others[2019] FWCFB 318 [117].

[2] Fair Work (Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement) Instrument 2023.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Quora Property Pty Ltd, trading as Ray White Sandgate, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of their Enterprise Agreement 2024. The application was contested by the Queensland Building and Construction General On-Site Workers Union, which argued that certain provisions of the proposed agreement were not fair and appropriate. The dispute centred on the interpretation and fairness of specific clauses within the agreement, particularly those concerning employee entitlements and working conditions.

The primary legal issues before the Commission were whether the provisions of the Enterprise Agreement were fair and appropriate, as required by section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This involved assessing whether the agreement provided for the proper operation of the enterprise, the proper management of the enterprise, and the proper regulation of the terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also had to determine whether the agreement complied with the "better off overall test" (BOOT), ensuring that employees were not worse off than they would be under the applicable award or safety net.

The Commission found that the provisions in question were fair and appropriate. It concluded that the agreement provided for the proper operation and management of the enterprise, and that the terms and conditions of employment were reasonable. The Commission also determined that the agreement met the BOOT, as employees would be better off overall under the agreement compared to the applicable award or safety net. Consequently, the Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement 2024.

The Commission's final order was that the Enterprise Agreement 2024 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement would now govern the employment terms and conditions of the employees covered by it, subject to the Fair Work Act and any applicable awards.

Quora Property Pty Ltd T/A Ray White Sandgate

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established