DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Karuna Hospice Service Limited T/A Karuna Hospice Services
(AG2021/21)

KARUNA HOSPICE SERVICES - NURSES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT SAUNDERS	NEWCASTLE, 11 FEBRUARY 2021

Application for approval of the Karuna Hospice Services - Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Karuna Hospice Services - Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings (Undertakings). A copy of the Undertakings is attached in Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that the effect of accepting the Undertakings is not likely to:

(a) cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement; or

(b) result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

[4] Pursuant to subsection 190(3) of the Act, I accept the Undertakings. The Undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] Subject to the Undertakings, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[6] Pursuant to subsection 202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under section 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[8] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 18 February 2021. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 May 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Karuna Hospice Service Limited, trading as Karuna Hospice Services, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Nurses Enterprise Agreement 2020. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered by the Fair Work Commission. The application was made under the Fair Work Act 2009, which provides the legal framework for the registration of enterprise agreements. The dispute involved the terms and conditions of employment for nurses employed by the hospice service, including issues related to wages, hours of work, and other employment-related matters.

The legal issues before the Fair Work Commission centred on whether the proposed agreement met the statutory requirements for registration. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine if the agreement was a "genuine" enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Fair Work Act 2009. This required the Commission to consider whether the agreement was negotiated in good faith, involved genuine consultation, and did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy or unfair. The Commission also needed to ensure that the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, including the requirement for the agreement to provide for a genuine safety net for employees.

The Fair Work Commission found that the proposed agreement was a genuine enterprise agreement that met all the statutory requirements for registration. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, involved genuine consultation, and did not contain any terms that were contrary to public policy or unfair. The Commission also found that the agreement complied with the provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009, including the requirement for the agreement to provide for a genuine safety net for employees. The Commission approved the agreement and registered it under the Act.

The Karuna Hospice Service Limited T/A Karuna Hospice Services

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established