DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation T/A AgriFutures Australia
(AG2020/1922)

AGRIFUTURES AUSTRALIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018-2021

Commonwealth employment
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 24 JULY 2020

Application for variation of the AgriFutures Australia Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the AgriFutures Australia Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). The application was made by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation T/A AgriFutures Australia pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval of a variation have been met.

[4] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 12 February 2019. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[5] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[6] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 24 July 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, trading as AgriFutures Australia, applied to the Fair Work Commission for a variation to the AgriFutures Australia Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021. The application sought changes to the enterprise agreement to account for changes in the economic environment and workforce composition. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the proposed changes met the requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues before the Commission included whether the application met the procedural and substantive requirements of the Act. Procedurally, the Commission needed to consider whether the application was made in accordance with the provisions of the Act and whether the appropriate stakeholders were notified. Substantively, the Commission had to determine whether the changes proposed were in the best interests of the employees, whether they were fair and reasonable, and whether they addressed genuine workplace issues.

The Commission found that the application complied with the procedural requirements and that the proposed changes were necessary to address the economic challenges faced by AgriFutures Australia. The changes included adjustments to working arrangements, pay rates, and conditions to better align with the current economic environment. The Commission concluded that the changes were fair and reasonable and would benefit the enterprise by improving its financial sustainability. Consequently, the Fair Work Commission approved the variation of the enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the proposed changes to the AgriFutures Australia Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021, effective from the date of the decision. The new agreement incorporated the variations related to working arrangements, pay rates, and conditions as proposed in the application.

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation T/A AgriFutures Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established