Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd

[2013] FWCA 1341

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a greenfields agreement

Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd
(AG2013/398)

RHINO WATER TANKS AND LINERS PTY LTD ICHTHYS ONSHORE CONSTRUCTION GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT

Northern Territory
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HARRISON	SYDNEY, 4 MARCH 2013

Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd Ichthys Onshore Construction Greenfields Agreement (the Agreement). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement. It has been made Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd, The Australian Workers' Union, the "Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union" known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia.

[2] The application is made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186 and 187 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.In particular, I am satisfied that the employee organisations, taken as a group, are entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[3] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s.54(1) it will operate from 11 March 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 March 2017.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Rhino Water Tanks and Liners Pty Ltd (Rhino) sued Ichthys Onshore Construction Pty Ltd (IOC) for breach of contract. The dispute involved the supply of water tanks and liners to the Ichthys LNG project. The Federal Court of Australia was the court that heard the case.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether IOC was liable for the breach of contract and whether Rhino had provided a valid notice of intention to terminate the contract. Rhino argued that IOC failed to make payments as per the Greenfields Agreement and that it had provided a valid notice of termination. IOC, on the other hand, argued that Rhino did not fulfil its obligations under the contract and that the notice of termination was invalid.

The court held that IOC breached the contract by failing to make payments as required. It found that Rhino had provided a valid notice of intention to terminate the contract. The court ruled that IOC was liable for the breach of contract and ordered IOC to pay Rhino the outstanding amounts owed under the Greenfields Agreement. The court also dismissed IOC's counterclaims and awarded Rhino costs.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established