DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited
(AG2019/2686)

ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE OF AUSTRALIA (QUEENSLAND SECTION) LIMITED SUPPORT SERVICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019-2023

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER WILSON	MELBOURNE, 13 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited. 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of 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 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 20 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 13 September 2023.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited, applied to the Fair Work Commission for the approval of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023. The application was made under section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered by the Fair Work Commission as a registered agreement, which would provide it with the protections and benefits of a registered agreement.

The primary legal issue the Fair Work Commission had to resolve was whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant needed to demonstrate that the agreement provided for the employees' terms and conditions of employment and that it had been genuinely agreed upon by the parties. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the criteria for approval. The agreement provided for the employees' terms and conditions of employment, including their pay and conditions, leave entitlements, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been genuinely agreed upon by the parties, and that it was in the best interests of the employees. The agreement also provided for a process for the review of its provisions and for the making of variations to the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited Support Services Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2023 as a registered agreement. The agreement was registered on 19 May 2020.

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established