DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd T/A Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman
(AG2018/5565)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY OMBUNDSMAN LTD ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Clerical industry
COMMISSIONER LEE	MELBOURNE, 24 JANUARY 2019

Application for approval of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd T/A Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 31 January 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd, trading as the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, applied for the approval of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018. The matter involved the determination of whether the agreement met the statutory requirements for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The primary dispute centred around whether the enterprise agreement adequately addressed the rights and obligations of the employees covered by it.

The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement complied with the procedural requirements of the Fair Work Act, including the provisions regarding the agreement's coverage, bargaining representation, and the absence of prohibited content. The Commission also needed to consider whether the agreement had been made in good faith and whether it provided for the employees' minimum entitlements as required by the Act.

The Commission found that the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd had demonstrated that the necessary procedures had been followed in the making of the agreement. It was determined that the agreement covered all relevant employees, that proper bargaining representation had been provided, and that no prohibited content was present. The Commission concluded that the agreement had been made in good faith and provided for the minimum entitlements of the employees as stipulated by the Act. Accordingly, the Commission approved the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2018.

The Commission's final orders included the approval of the agreement and its registration on the Register of Approved Agreements. The agreement was to take effect from the date of the decision and would be binding on the parties from that point forward. The decision underscored the importance of procedural compliance and the need for agreements to meet the statutory criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Ltd T/A Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established