The Queen Victoria Home Inc. T/A Queen Victoria Care

[2022] FWCA 2721

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Queen Victoria Home Inc. T/A Queen Victoria Care

(AG2022/3040)

Queen Victoria Home Nursing Enterprise Agreement 2021

Aged care industry
COMMISSIONER O'NEILL	MELBOURNE, 15 AUGUST 2022

Application for approval of the Queen Victoria Home Nursing Enterprise Agreement 2021

Queen Victoria Care has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Queen Victoria Home Nursing Enterprise Agreement 2021 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and is a single enterprise agreement.

Employees were not notified of the voting details by the start of the access period as required by s.180(3) of the Act. However, I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural departure from the requirements of s.180(3), and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(2) of the Act.

The Agreement lodged contained an error whereby clause 28.6 cross-referenced a subclause that did not exist. On 11 August 2022, the Employer filed an amended page of the Agreement. Pursuant to s.586 of the Act, I am satisfied that the correction should be made and that it is appropriate to do so.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

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

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisations.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 22 August 2022. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 July 2024.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Queen Victoria Home Inc., trading as Queen Victoria Care, applied for approval of the Queen Victoria Home Nursing Enterprise Agreement 2021. The applicant sought the Fair Work Commission's approval of the agreement, which it had negotiated with a union. The union did not oppose the application. The parties had reached an agreement after conciliation and mediation, and the union indicated that it was satisfied with the agreement's terms. The dispute was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The legal issue before the Fair Work Commission was whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant argued that the agreement was a genuine bargain, negotiated in good faith, and contained terms that were fair and reasonable. The union did not oppose the application, and the applicant submitted that the agreement met the criteria for approval. The Fair Work Commission considered the evidence and submissions provided by the parties and determined whether the agreement was fair and reasonable and met the criteria for approval.

The Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The Commission noted that the agreement was a genuine bargain, negotiated in good faith, and contained terms that were fair and reasonable. The Commission considered the evidence and submissions provided by the parties and found that the agreement met the criteria for approval. The Commission approved the Queen Victoria Home Nursing Enterprise Agreement 2021. The Fair Work Commission's approval of the agreement provides certainty to the parties and ensures that the agreement is legally binding and enforceable.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established