DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd T/A AISNSW
(AG2016/6902)

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS NSW/ACT STANDARDS MODEL (TEACHERS) MULTI-ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2017

Educational services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 22 MARCH 2017

Application for approval of the Independent Schools NSW/ACT Standards Model (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2017.

[1] On 4 November 2016, an application was made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Independent Schools NSW/ACT Standards Model (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2017. The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act) by The Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd T/A AISNSW (Applicant). The agreement is a multi-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The agreement lodged contained typographical errors. On 15 March 2017, the Applicant filed an amended version of the agreement. I am satisfied that the corrections should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

[4] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. The Commission is 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. In any case the Commission received correspondence from the HSU indicating its acceptance of the undertakings.

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

[6] 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers this organisation.

[7] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 29 March 2017. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 January 2021.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd T/A AISNSW (Applicant) brought an application before the Fair Work Commission (Commission) seeking approval of the Independent Schools NSW/ACT Standards Model (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2017 (the Agreement). The Applicant argued that the Agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The dispute primarily centred on the procedural and substantive fairness of the Agreement, including whether the Agreement was negotiated in good faith and whether it provided appropriate protections for teachers' rights and interests.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved the compliance of the Agreement with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. This included assessing whether the Agreement was made in good faith and whether it was fair and reasonable in all its terms. The Commission also had to consider whether the Agreement provided for the protection of teachers' rights and interests and if the process leading to the Agreement was fair and reasonable. The Commission had to ensure that the Agreement did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act or any other applicable law.

In its decision, the Commission found that the Agreement met the necessary criteria for approval. The Commission was satisfied that the Agreement was made in good faith and was fair and reasonable in all its terms. The Agreement was found to appropriately protect the rights and interests of the teachers and that the process leading to the Agreement was fair and reasonable. The Commission concluded that the Agreement did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act or any other applicable law.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Independent Schools NSW/ACT Standards Model (Teachers) Multi-Enterprise Agreement 2017. The decision was made on the basis that the Agreement was made in good faith, was fair and reasonable in all its terms, and provided appropriate protections for teachers' rights and interests. The Commission determined that the process leading to the Agreement was fair and reasonable and that the Agreement did not contravene any relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act or any other applicable law.

The Association of Independent Schools of NSW Ltd T/A AISNSW

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established