Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations T/A Royal Flying Doctor Service South Australia & Northern Territory

[2023] FWC 2909

[2023] FWC 2909

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.222 - Application for approval of a termination of an enterprise agreement

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations T/A Royal Flying Doctor Service South Australia & Northern Territory

(AG2023/4009)

Airline operations
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 3 NOVEMBER 2023

Application for termination of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Central Operations Pilots Agreement 2018

1. On 1 November 2023, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations T/A Royal Flying Doctor Service South Australia & Northern Territory made an application for the termination of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Central Operations Pilots Agreement 2018 (the Agreement), an enterprise agreement that had passed its nominal expiry date and termination had been agreed to pursuant to s.222 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

Relevant Legislation

1. Sections 222 and 223 of the Act are relevant to this application and are as follows:

“222 Application for FWA approval of a termination of an enterprise agreement

Application for approval

(1) If a termination of an enterprise agreement has been agreed to, a person covered by the agreement must apply to FWA for approval of the termination.

Material to accompany the application

(2) The application must be accompanied by any declarations that are required by the procedural rules to accompany the application.

When the application must be made

(3) The application must be made:

(a) within 14 days after the termination is agreed to; or

(b) if in all the circumstances FWA considers it fair to extend that period—within such further period as FWA allows.

223 When FWA must approve a termination of an enterprise agreement

If an application for the approval of a termination of an enterprise agreement is made under section 222, FWA must approve the termination if:

(a) FWA is satisfied that each employer covered by the agreement complied with subsection 220(2) (which deals with giving employees a reasonable opportunity to decide etc.) in relation to the agreement; and

(b) FWA is satisfied that the termination was agreed to in accordance with whichever of subsection 221(1) or (2) applies (those subsections deal with agreement to the termination of different kinds of enterprise agreements by employee vote); and

(c) FWA is satisfied that there are no other reasonable grounds for believing that the employees have not agreed to the termination; and

(d) FWA considers that it is appropriate to approve the termination taking into account the views of the employee organisation or employee organisations (if any) covered by the agreement.”

1. The Application was made within the timeframe required.

1. Attached to the application was a statutory declaration of Ms Laura Sarich, Executive General Manager – People, Culture and Environment, which is relevantly summarised as follows:

·  The Agreements nominal expiry date was 24 September 2023.

·  In October 2023, the Applicant conducted one on one consultations with the 2 employees covered by the Agreement.

·  On 23 October 2023, the employees were provided with information about the proposal to conduct a ballot seeking approval to terminate the Agreement.  A copy of the document was attached to the Application.

·  The Ballot was concluded on 26 October 2023. Both employees voted in favour of the termination.

1. On 3 November 2023, I corresponded with the parties in order to seek their views in accordance with s.223(d) of the Act. The employee organisation covered by the Agreement being the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP), advised they consented to the application.

1. I am satisfied that the employer complied with subsection 220(2) of the Act by giving the affected employees a reasonable opportunity to decide whether they wanted to approve the proposed termination. There are no other reasonable grounds for believing that the employees have not agreed to the termination.

1. I have considered the views of the employees, the AFAP and the employer and I am satisfied that each of the requirements contained in ss.222 and 223 of the Act have been met.

2. I am satisfied that it is appropriate to terminate the Agreement.

1. The termination will come into effect from 3 November 2023.

COMMISSIONER

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