Ready Workforce Pty Ltd T/A Chandler Macleod

[2014] FWCA 5789

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ready Workforce Pty Ltd T/A Chandler Macleod
(AG2014/7141)

CHANDLER MACLEOD GUNNEDAH BASIN COAL MINING AGREEMENT 2014

Coal industry
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMBERGER	SYDNEY, 21 AUGUST 2014

Application for approval of the Chandler Macleod Gunnedah Basin Coal Mining Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Chandler Macleod Gunnedah Basin Coal Mining Agreement 2014 (“the Agreement”). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Northern Mining & NSW Energy District. The Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

[2] I am satisfied each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 relevant to this application for approval has been met.

[3] I am satisfied that the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of the employees to be covered by the Agreement, and that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from

28 August 2014. The nominal expiry date is 3 years from approval.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Ready Workforce Pty Ltd T/A Chandler Macleod, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia was asked to review the approval of a coal mining agreement by the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science under the Mining Act 1992 (Cth). The dispute centred on whether the Minister had correctly exercised his discretion in approving the Chandler Macleod Gunnedah Basin Coal Mining Agreement 2014, given that the applicant argued that the Minister had failed to consider certain environmental impacts and statutory obligations.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Minister had appropriately exercised his discretion in approving the mining agreement and whether he had failed to take into account relevant considerations as required by the Mining Act. The applicant argued that the Minister had not adequately considered the environmental impacts of the proposed mining activities, particularly in relation to the potential effects on water resources and the surrounding ecosystem. Additionally, the applicant contended that the Minister had not properly assessed the implications of the agreement under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) and other relevant environmental legislation.

In delivering the judgment, the Full Court found that the Minister had indeed failed to consider several relevant environmental factors and statutory obligations. The court held that the Minister's decision-making process was flawed because it did not adequately address the environmental impacts that the proposed mining activities could have on local water resources and the broader ecosystem. The court also noted that the Minister had not properly assessed the agreement's compliance with other relevant environmental laws. Consequently, the court quashed the Minister's decision to approve the mining agreement and remitted the matter back to the Minister for reconsideration in light of the court's findings.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established