Samarinda Aged Services

[2014] FWCA 833

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Samarinda Aged Services
(AG2013/12877)

SAMARINDA AGED SERVICES NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 7 FEBRUARY 2014

Application for approval of the Samarinda Aged Services Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] On 23 December 2013 Samarinda Aged Services (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Samarinda Aged Services Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 14 February 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 January 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009, the case of Samarinda Aged Services involved the applicant, Samarinda Aged Services, and the respondent, Health Services Union of Australia. The dispute was over the application for approval of the Samarinda Aged Services Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013. This case was heard in the Fair Work Commission, presided over by Commissioner J T Carroll.

The legal issues before the Commission involved whether the enterprise agreement met the criteria for approval under section 222 of the Fair Work Act. The Commission needed to determine if the agreement was in the public interest, provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and adhered to the good faith bargaining requirements. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement provided for a minimum rate of pay that complied with the National Employment Standards and if it allowed for genuine flexibility in the workplace.

The Commission concluded that the enterprise agreement was in the public interest, provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions, and met the good faith bargaining requirements. The agreement provided for a minimum rate of pay that complied with the National Employment Standards. The Commission also found that the agreement allowed for genuine flexibility in the workplace, as it contained provisions for shift trading and roster adjustments. Consequently, the Commission approved the Samarinda Aged Services Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2013.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established