Roseneath Aged Care Centre Summary

[2013] FWCA 7456

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Roseneath Aged Care Centre
(AG2013/6933)

ROSENEATH AGED CARE CENTRE NSWNMA & HSU NSW BRANCH ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2012

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOOLEY	MELBOURNE, 26 SEPTEMBER 2013

Application for approval of the Roseneath Aged Care Centre, NSWNMA & HSU NSW Branch Enterprise Agreement 2012.

[1] On 25 September 2013 the Full Bench granted permission to appeal 1 to Roseneath Aged Care Centre against my decisions2 to dismiss the application for approval of the Roseneath Aged Care Centre, NSWNMA & HSU NSW Branch Enterprise Agreement 2012 (the Agreement).

[2] At the hearing of the appeal, Roseneath advised that it was prepared to offer an undertaking which would resolve the issue which caused me to reject the application for approval of the Agreement.

[3] The bargaining representatives, the Health Services Union - NSW Branch and the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association and the Australian Nursing Federation- New South Wales Branch agree to the undertaking.

[4] The application for approval was remitted to me for approval conditional upon the undertaking being provided as I had indicated I would do in the decision under appeal. 3

[5] The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Roseneath Aged Care Centre. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[6] The Applicant 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.

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

[8] The Health Services Union, the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association and the Australian Nursing Federation NSW, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2), I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[9]
The Agreement was approved on 26 September 2013 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 3 October 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2015.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

ANNEXURE A

1 [2013] FWCFB 7430 at [2]

2 [2013] FWC 4969 and [2013] FWC 5338

3 [2013] FWCFB 7430 at [5]

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Roseneath Aged Care Centre, the dispute involved the application for approval of the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association and Health Services Union NSW Branch Enterprise Agreement 2012. The decision was handed down by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales. The applicant, the Roseneath Aged Care Centre, sought the commission's approval of the enterprise agreement, which governed the employment terms and conditions for the centre's staff. The legal issues before the commission centred on whether the agreement met the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the commission had to consider whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated, was free from prohibited content, and provided for the proper administration of employment terms.

The commission examined the process through which the agreement was negotiated and whether it involved genuine bargaining between the parties. The commission also assessed the content of the agreement to ensure it did not include any prohibited matters, such as discrimination or adverse action clauses. Furthermore, the commission looked into whether the agreement included appropriate provisions for the administration of employment terms, including dispute resolution mechanisms. After careful consideration of the evidence and submissions, the commission found that the agreement had been fairly negotiated, contained no prohibited content, and provided for the proper administration of employment terms. Consequently, the commission approved the Roseneath Aged Care Centre's application for the agreement.

The commission's decision was grounded in the principle that enterprise agreements should promote fair and efficient bargaining between employers and employees while ensuring compliance with the legislative framework. The commission concluded that the agreement met all the necessary criteria under the Fair Work Act 2009. The approval of the enterprise agreement will now govern the employment terms and conditions for the staff at the Roseneath Aged Care Centre, ensuring a framework that is fair and conducive to the provision of quality aged care services. The final orders of the commission were that the Roseneath Aged Care Centre's application for the approval of the enterprise agreement be granted.

Roseneath Aged Care Centre

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established