Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Limited

[2024] FWCA 795

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Limited

(AG2024/378)

RAMSAY HEALTH CARE JOONDALUP HEALTH CAMPUS ENGINEERING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BEAUMONT	PERTH, 1 MARCH 2024

Application for approval of the Ramsay Health Care Joondalup Health Campus Engineering Enterprise Agreement 2023

Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Limited (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ramsay Health Care Joondalup Health Campus Engineering Enterprise Agreement 2023 (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 representative’s 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.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) (the organisation), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s 201(2), and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the organisation is covered by the Agreement.

The Agreement was approved on 1 March 2024 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 8 March 2024. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 August 2025.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ramsay Health Care Australia Pty Limited applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Ramsay Health Care Joondalup Health Campus Engineering Enterprise Agreement 2023. The applicant, a major operator of private hospitals in Australia, sought to finalise an enterprise agreement with its engineering employees at the Joondalup Health Campus. The dispute involved the terms of the proposed agreement, which the applicant claimed should be approved as a new enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Fair Work Commission was required to determine whether the proposed agreement met the legal criteria for approval, including whether it provided for a fair and efficient workplace.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements set out in the Fair Work Act and whether it was a new, valid enterprise agreement. The Commission had to consider if the agreement was appropriately negotiated, if it contained all the necessary terms and conditions, and if it was fair and reasonable. Additionally, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement was consistent with the provisions of the Fair Work Act and did not unfairly discriminate against any employee or group of employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Ramsay Health Care Joondalup Health Campus Engineering Enterprise Agreement 2023 was appropriately negotiated and met the statutory requirements for a new enterprise agreement. The Commission considered the process followed in reaching the agreement, the content of the agreement, and the fairness and reasonableness of the terms proposed. After reviewing the evidence and submissions, the Commission concluded that the agreement was valid and should be approved as a new enterprise agreement. The Commission noted that the agreement contained all the necessary terms and conditions, provided for a fair and efficient workplace, and did not unfairly discriminate against any employee or group of employees.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Ramsay Health Care Joondalup Health Campus Engineering Enterprise Agreement 2023, effective from the date of the Commission’s decision. The Commission's approval ensures that the agreement will govern the employment conditions of the engineering employees at the Joondalup Health Campus. The decision confirms the agreement as a new enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act, providing certainty and stability for both the employer and the employees involved.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established