Simplot Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU

Simplot Australia Pty Ltd has appealed against the decision of Deputy President Barclay of the Fair Work Commission, delivered on 22 June 2020 in Hobart, which dismissed the company's application to arbitrate under the dispute resolution procedure of a superseded agreement. The dispute at the centre of the case involves the interpretation and application of certain provisions within the terminated enterprise agreement between Simplot Australia and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU).

The legal issues before the court primarily concerned the jurisdiction of the Fair Work Commission to arbitrate disputes under a superseded enterprise agreement, as well as the scope and limits of such jurisdiction. The crux of the matter hinged on whether the Commission had the authority to entertain and decide on the dispute, given the agreement under which the dispute was raised had been replaced by a new agreement.

In its decision, the court considered the precedent set by earlier cases, which held that once a new enterprise agreement has been registered, the Fair Work Commission's jurisdiction to arbitrate disputes under the superseded agreement ceases. The court found that Deputy President Barclay had erred in exercising jurisdiction over the dispute, as the new agreement had rendered the old dispute resolution provisions inoperative. Consequently, the appeal was upheld, and the application was redetermined and dismissed.