DECISION

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

Stanwell Corporation Limited
(AG2015/4034)

STANWELL CORPORATION LIMITED CORPORATE OFFICES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Electrical power industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	BRISBANE, 18 AUGUST 2015

Application for approval of the Stanwell Corporation Limited Corporate Offices Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] Stanwell Corporation Limited applies for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Stanwell Corporation Limited Corporate Offices Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

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

[3] The consultation term in the Agreement is not in the form required by s.205 of the Act. However, the term in the Agreement applies when a "preliminary decision” is made. The parties proposed that the Commission should amend the consultation term in the Agreement to rectify the deficiency. I instructed my Associate to contact the parties to advise that my preliminary view was that the Commission could not alter a consultation term in the manner sought. Section 205 of the Act requires that “if an enterprise agreement does not include a consultation term, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the agreement”.

[4] I proposed to the parties that consistent with s.205(2) of the Act I would incorporate the model consultation term into the Agreement and note that the consultation term agreed by the parties (clause 3.5.12) would continue to operate according to its terms when a preliminary decision is made, except to the extent of any inconsistency with the incorporated model term. All parties agreed with this proposal.

[5] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

[7] The Agreement is approved, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 25 August 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 18 August 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Stanwell Corporation Limited sought approval for the Stanwell Corporation Limited Corporate Offices Enterprise Agreement 2015. The application was made under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009, and the dispute centred on the agreement's terms and conditions, specifically concerning the employees who were part of the corporate offices of Stanwell Corporation Limited. The Fair Work Commission was tasked with determining whether the agreement met the criteria for approval as a single interest employer agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Commission was whether the agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the agreement was genuinely a single interest employer agreement, if it was made in good faith, and if it contained the necessary minimum terms and conditions as prescribed by the Act. Additionally, the Commission had to consider whether the agreement provided for a fair and efficient workplace and whether it was consistent with the public interest.

The Fair Work Commission found that the Stanwell Corporation Limited Corporate Offices Enterprise Agreement 2015 met all the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission confirmed that the agreement was genuinely a single interest employer agreement, made in good faith, and contained the minimum terms and conditions required by the Act. The agreement was also deemed to provide for a fair and efficient workplace and was consistent with the public interest. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, allowing it to come into effect as a registered agreement.

The final orders of the Fair Work Commission were that the Stanwell Corporation Limited Corporate Offices Enterprise Agreement 2015 be approved as a registered agreement under section 171 of the Fair Work Act 2009. This decision enabled the agreement to be enforced as a binding instrument governing the employment conditions of the relevant employees within Stanwell Corporation Limited.

Stanwell Corporation Limited

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established