Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Limited Trading AS Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Ltd

[2025] FWCA 2722

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.210—Enterprise agreement

Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Limited Trading AS Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Ltd

(AG2025/1882)

RURAL WORKFORCE AGENCY VICTORIA LIMITED ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER PERICA	MELBOURNE, 14 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of a variation of an enterprise agreement

On 16 June 2025, Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Limited (RWAV) made an application under s 210 to vary the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Limited Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). Voting to approve the variation concluded on 4 June 2025. The variation to the Agreement is attached as Annexure A.

RWAV seeks to vary the Agreement to extend the nominal expiry date from 30 June 2028 to ‘4 years after the date the Agreement is approved by the Commission’. They submit the expiry date of 30 June 2028 does not reflect the true agreement between RWAV and its employees. This is demonstrated by Schedule 2 – Salary Levels of the Agreement which provides for pay increases “over the next 4 years”.

In a witness statement filed on 8 August 2025 by Ms. Susan Rundle, Senior Advisor of People and Culture at RWAV, the error is explained as an “oversight” that was identified by an employee bargaining representative, Ms. Cathy Mitton, on 1 May 2025.

The matter was heard on 11 August 2025. Ms. Rundle attended and gave evidence confirming her statement. Also in attendance was Mr. Harrison Gray of law firm Russell Kennedy, Ms. Lauren Cordwell, Chief Executive Officer of RWAV and Ms. Mitton.

On the basis of the material contained in the application, the accompanying declaration from Ms. Cordwell and the matters put to me at the hearing on 11 August 2025, I am satisfied that each of the requirements under ss 211 and 212 as are relevant to this application have been met. I therefore approve the variation and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

In accordance with s 216 of the Act, the variation operates from 14 August 2025.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Limited Trading as Rural Workforce Agency Victoria Ltd applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of a variation of an enterprise agreement. The application was opposed by the Australian Workers’ Union. The dispute centred around the terms of the proposed changes to the enterprise agreement, specifically concerning the classification of employees and the associated pay rates. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the proposed variation met the requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legal issues the court had to decide included whether the proposed variation provided fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the employees, and whether the application process complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act. The court also considered whether the proposed changes were necessary and appropriate in the circumstances, and whether there was sufficient evidence to support the application. The court examined the submissions from both parties and the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act and the existing enterprise agreement.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed variation provided fair and reasonable terms and conditions for the employees. The court was satisfied that the application process complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act and that the proposed changes were necessary and appropriate. The court accepted the evidence provided by the applicant and found that the variation was in the best interests of the employees and the organisation. The court approved the variation, subject to certain conditions.

The final orders included the approval of the variation to the enterprise agreement, subject to the conditions set out in the decision. The variation was to be implemented on the date specified in the decision and was to remain in effect until a new enterprise agreement was agreed upon or until the expiry of the existing agreement, whichever occurred first. The orders also included provisions for the notification of the employees and the union of the approved variation and the conditions attached to the approval.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established