DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Rock Ridge Farming Pty Ltd
(AG2018/6953)

ROCK RIDGE FARMING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Agricultural industry
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 6 MAY 2019

Application for approval of the Rock Ridge Farming Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Rock Ridge Farming Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Rock Ridge Farming Pty Ltd. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.
[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 13 May 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 6 May 2023.

COMMISSIONER

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Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Rock Ridge Farming Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Rock Ridge Farming Enterprise Agreement 2018. The applicant was a company that operated a farm and the respondents were employees of the company, represented by their union. The agreement, if approved, would set out the terms and conditions of employment for the respondents. The parties had been in negotiations for some time but had been unable to reach an agreement. The union made the application to the Fair Work Commission to approve the agreement as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issue for the court to determine was whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act for approval as a registered agreement. The court had to consider whether the agreement provided for the mandatory terms set out in the Act, including minimum wages and conditions, and whether it had been made in good faith and without coercion. The court also had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

The court found that the agreement did meet the requirements of the Act and was in the best interests of the employees. The court noted that the agreement provided for wages and conditions that were at least as good as, and in many cases better than, the applicable award or registered agreement. The court also found that the agreement had been made in good faith and without coercion, and that the employees had been given an opportunity to vote on the agreement. The court approved the agreement as a registered agreement under the Act.

The court ordered that the Rock Ridge Farming Enterprise Agreement 2018 be approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The agreement would now apply to the employees of Rock Ridge Farming Pty Ltd and would set out their terms and conditions of employment.

Rock Ridge Farming 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