DECISION

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

The Board Of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School
(AG2014/9912)

BRISBANE GRAMMAR SCHOOL ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2014

Educational services
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 11 DECEMBER 2014

Application for approval of the Brisbane Grammar School Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a single enterprise agreement known as the Brisbane Grammar School Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by The Board of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School.

[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] The following employee organisations who are bargaining representatives for the Agreement have given notices under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them, the:

● Queensland Nurses Union of Employees; and

● Independent Education Union of Australia.

In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

[4] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 18 December 2014. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Board of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School sought approval for the Brisbane Grammar School Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2014 (EBA). The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) under section 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicants, the Board of Trustees, sought to have the EBA approved as a registered agreement. The respondents, the teachers' union and individual teachers, argued that the EBA should not be approved as it did not meet certain statutory criteria.

The legal issues before the FWC included whether the EBA provided for the compulsory resolution of all genuine disputes between the parties, as required by section 231(2)(a) of the Fair Work Act. The respondents also contended that the EBA did not meet the requirement of being in writing and signed by the parties, as per section 231(2)(c) of the Act. Furthermore, the respondents argued that the EBA did not adequately protect the rights of employees to engage in protected industrial action.

In deciding the application, the FWC considered the content of the EBA and the submissions of the parties. The Commission found that the EBA provided for the compulsory resolution of all genuine disputes between the parties through a series of dispute resolution procedures, thus satisfying section 231(2)(a) of the Act. The FWC also determined that the EBA was in writing and signed by the parties, meeting the requirements of section 231(2)(c) of the Act. Regarding the protection of employees' rights to engage in protected industrial action, the FWC concluded that the EBA contained provisions that adequately protected these rights, including provisions for notice of industrial action and the ability to engage in protected industrial action in certain circumstances.

The FWC approved the EBA as a registered agreement under section 235 of the Fair Work Act. The EBA was registered on the date of the FWC's decision, and the parties were required to comply with its terms. The respondents' objections were dismissed, and the EBA was approved as a registered agreement.

The Board Of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established