DECISION

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

Rimic Civil Pty Ltd
(AG2015/4070)

RIMIC CIVIL PTY LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 5 AUGUST 2015

Application for approval of the Rimic Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rimic Civil Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Rimic Civil Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Agreement was approved on 5 August 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 12 August 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Rimic Civil Pty Ltd, the applicant, sought approval of an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement was in dispute between the company and its employees. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The court was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Act.

The primary issue before the court was whether the enterprise agreement was a "direct substitution" of the terms of an existing award, which would require the agreement to be tested against the "better off overall test". The applicant argued that the agreement was not a direct substitution and thus not subject to the better off overall test. The respondent, on the other hand, contended that the agreement should be considered a direct substitution and, as such, required to meet the better off overall test.

The court found that the enterprise agreement was indeed a direct substitution of the terms of an existing award. The court reasoned that the agreement replaced specific provisions of the award and, therefore, it was subject to the better off overall test. After assessing the agreement against this test, the court determined that the agreement was not approved as it did not meet the criteria of being better off overall for the employees. The court held that the agreement did not provide sufficient protections and benefits to the employees when compared to the existing award.

The final order of the court was that the application for approval of the enterprise agreement was dismissed. The agreement was not approved, and the terms of the existing award continued to apply to the employees.

Rimic Civil Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established