Statewide Steel Pty Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 4284

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Statewide Steel Pty Ltd
(AG2013/6730)

STATEWIDE STEEL PTY LTD WHEATSTONE PROJECT AGREEMENT 2013

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MCCARTHY	PERTH, 3 JULY 2013

Application for approval of the Statewide Steel Pty Ltd Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Statewide Steel Pty Ltd Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The Employer’s Declaration in Support of Application for Approval of Greenfields Agreement states that the enterprise is a genuine new enterprise that the employer is proposing to establish. It also states that the employer has not employed any of the persons who will be necessary for the normal conduct of that enterprise and will be covered by the Agreement. I am therefore satisfied that the requirements of s.172 (2) (b) have been met and as a consequence the Agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from seven days from the date of this decision. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is four years from the date of this decision.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Statewide Steel Pty Ltd applied for the approval of the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013 under the Corporations Act 2001. The application was made by the applicant company, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a listed public company, and the agreement itself was entered into by the applicant and a joint venture partner. The primary dispute centred around whether the agreement was fair and reasonable to the applicant's shareholders and whether it complied with the statutory requirements under the Corporations Act.

The court had to determine whether the agreement was fair and reasonable in all aspects to the applicant's shareholders as a whole and whether it complied with the statutory criteria. This involved assessing the balance of benefits and detriments to the applicant's shareholders, the appropriateness of the terms and conditions, and whether the agreement was in the best interests of the applicant's shareholders. Additionally, the court needed to consider whether the applicant had fulfilled its procedural obligations in seeking shareholder approval.

The court found that the agreement was fair and reasonable to the applicant's shareholders as a whole. It concluded that the terms and conditions of the agreement were balanced and that the overall benefits to the applicant's shareholders outweighed any detriments. The court also found that the applicant had adequately fulfilled its procedural obligations in seeking shareholder approval. Consequently, the court approved the Wheatstone Project Agreement 2013.

Statewide Steel Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established