South Gippsland Shire Council

[2022] FWCA 4486

[2022] FWCA 4486

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

South Gippsland Shire Council

(AG2022/4997)

South Gippsland Shire Council Enterprise Agreement 2022

Local government administration
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BELL	MELBOURNE, 19 DECEMBER 2022

Application for approval of the South Gippsland Shire Council Enterprise Agreement 2022.

1. An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the South Gippsland Shire Council Enterprise Agreement 2022 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by the Employer, South Gippsland Shire Council. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

1. The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. Pursuant to s.201(3), the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

1. Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer. However, taking into account the factors in sections 186(3) and (3A), I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

1. The Notice of Employee Representational Rights was not in the prescribed form, as it included the Employer’s watermark and letterhead. Nevertheless, in the circumstances, I am satisfied that this constitutes a minor procedural or technical error for the purposes of s.188(2)(a). Further, I am satisfied that the employees covered by the agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the error. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s.188(2) of the Act.

1. The Australian Education Union (AEU), Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (APESMA) and Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (ASU), being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

1. The Agreement was approved on 19 December 2022 and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 26 December 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2026.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

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Annexure A