DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Special Broadcasting Services Corporation T/A SBS Corporation
(AG2016/6108)

SBS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016

Commonwealth employment
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 29 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the SBS Enterprise Agreement 2016.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the SBS Enterprise Agreement 2016 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Special Broadcasting Services Corporation T/A SBS Corporation. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union and Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance 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 these organisations.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 29 November 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 6 December 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 6 December 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Special Broadcasting Services Corporation, trading as SBS Corporation, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the SBS Enterprise Agreement 2016. The application involved a dispute regarding the terms and conditions of employment for the employees covered by the agreement. The dispute was brought before the Fair Work Commission, the body responsible for regulating employment conditions in Australia.

The legal issues before the Commission were centred on whether the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for approval, including compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement fairly reflected the bargaining outcomes of the parties, if it was free from improper influence or interference, and if it complied with the procedural requirements for registration. The Commission also had to consider whether the agreement provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests.

In its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the SBS Enterprise Agreement 2016 met all the statutory requirements for approval. The Commission noted that the agreement was the product of good faith bargaining between the employer and the relevant union, and that it provided for fair and reasonable terms and conditions of employment. The Commission also found that the agreement was free from improper influence or interference, and that it complied with all procedural requirements for registration. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement provided for the protection of employees' rights and interests, and approved the agreement as a registered enterprise agreement.

The final orders of the Commission were that the SBS Enterprise Agreement 2016 be registered as a registered enterprise agreement, effective from the date of registration. The agreement will now apply to all employees covered by the agreement, and will remain in effect until it is varied or terminated in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

Special Broadcasting Services Corporation T/A SBS Corporation

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established