Study Group Australia Pty Ltd

[2014] FWCA 7004

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

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

Study Group Australia Pty Ltd
(AG2014/7284)

EMBASSY QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2014

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 13 OCTOBER 2014

Application for approval of the Embassy Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Embassy Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Study Group Australia Pty Ltd.

[2] On the basis of the material before me, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] As the consultation term does not meet the requirements of s.205 of the Act, the model consultation term is taken to be a term of the Agreement and is attached to the Agreement.

[4] The Independent Education Union of Australia, being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 20 October 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2017.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Study Group Australia Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Embassy Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2014. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant is an employer engaged in the education sector, and the dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for its employees in Queensland. The Fair Work Commission was the court that heard the application.

The legal issues before the court included whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009, particularly in relation to the procedural fairness in the agreement's creation and whether it provided for minimum entitlements as set out in the Act. The court also had to consider if the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement was procedurally fair and met all legal requirements. The agreement was approved as it provided for the minimum entitlements prescribed by the Act and was deemed to be in the best interests of the employees. The court concluded that the applicant had satisfied all necessary criteria for approval.

The final orders of the court were that the Embassy Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2014 be approved. This decision was based on the findings that the agreement was procedurally fair, met all legal requirements, and was in the best interests of the employees.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established