DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc.
(AG2017/6700)

SAMARINDA ASHBURTON AGED SERVICES INC. NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 6 APRIL 2018

Application for approval of the Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) 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.

[3] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 13 April 2018. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 January 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. brought an application before the Fair Work Commission, seeking approval of the Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2017. The agreement, if approved, would apply to nurses employed by Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. The primary concern was whether the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly concerning the procedural fairness in its formation and the substantive fairness of its terms.

The central legal issues addressed by the Commission were whether the agreement was genuinely negotiated between the employer and the employees, whether it met the requirements for "single-interest" bargaining, and whether the terms and conditions it proposed were fair and reasonable. The Commission considered the evidence presented regarding the negotiation process, the representatives' authority, and the agreement's provisions against the benchmarks set by the Fair Work Act.

The Commission found that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and met the requirements for single-interest bargaining. It concluded that the negotiation process was fair, and the representatives had the authority to act on behalf of the employees. The terms and conditions of the agreement were deemed fair and reasonable, taking into account the nature of the work, the parties' bargaining positions, and the broader economic context. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it to be compliant with the statutory requirements.

The Commission approved the Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc. Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2017, effective from the date of the decision. The approval was based on the findings that the agreement was genuinely negotiated, met the requirements for single-interest bargaining, and its terms and conditions were fair and reasonable. The agreement would now govern the employment conditions of nurses at Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc.

Samarinda Ashburton Aged Services Inc.

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established