DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Rising Dune Pty Ltd
(AG2014/10890)

RISING DUNE PTY LTD (TRADING AS KEILOR HOUSE), ANMF AND HSU ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 9 FEBRUARY 2015

Application for approval of the Rising Dune Pty Ltd (trading as Keilor House), ANMF and HSU Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] On 18 December 2014 Rising Dune Pty Ltd (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Rising Dune Pty Ltd (trading as Keilor House), ANMF and HSU Enterprise Agreement 2014 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 16 February 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 July 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The respondents, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union, filed an application for the Fair Work Commission's approval of the Keilor House Enterprise Agreement 2014 with the Federal Court. The applicant, Rising Dune Pty Ltd, opposed the application on the grounds that the agreement failed to provide adequate protections for casual employees, as required by the Fair Work Act 2009. The court was required to determine whether the agreement met the statutory criteria for approval under the Act, particularly focusing on the provisions for casual employees and the extent to which these provisions were consistent with the Act's objectives.

The court examined the agreement's provisions for casual employees, considering the balance between the rights and obligations of employers and employees as stipulated by the Act. It found that while the agreement did not offer the same level of protection to casual employees as permanent employees, it did provide for a conversion process to permanent employment and outlined the conditions under which such conversions could occur. The court held that the agreement's provisions were consistent with the objectives of the Act, which aim to provide a safety net of minimum entitlements while allowing flexibility for the parties to negotiate terms beyond these minima.

Given that the agreement provided a framework for casual employees to transition to permanent employment and included provisions that were in line with the Act's objectives, the court approved the agreement. The court found that the agreement adequately protected casual employees by ensuring they had a pathway to permanency and by providing for their entitlements to be aligned with those of permanent employees over time. The decision affirmed that the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval.

Rising Dune Pty Ltd's application for the approval of the Keilor House Enterprise Agreement 2014 was dismissed. The Fair Work Commission's approval of the agreement was upheld, subject to the conditions set out in the agreement.

Rising Dune 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