DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) t/a RSPCA
(AG2019/4188)

RSPCA VICTORIA ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2022

Animal care and veterinary services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT COLMAN	MELBOURNE, 9 DECEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the RSPCA Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2022

[1] The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) t/a RSPCA has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the RSPCA Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2022 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, 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.

[4] Pursuant to s 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.

[5] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union and the United Worker’s Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each given notice under s 183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s 201(2) and based on the statutory declarations provided by these organisations, I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 9 December 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 16 December 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2022.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the Fair Work Commission involved an application by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) trading as RSPCA for approval of the RSPCA Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022. The applicant sought to have the agreement registered as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The application was made on behalf of the employees covered by the agreement who were members of the applicant union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA).

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the requirements of the Fair Work Act. Specifically, the Commission needed to determine whether the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms and conditions as stipulated by the Act, and whether the agreement was fair and reasonable in all respects. The Commission also considered whether the agreement had been fairly and properly negotiated and whether it complied with the procedural requirements of the Act.

After considering submissions from both parties and reviewing the terms of the agreement, the Commission found that the RSPCA Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2019-2022 met all the statutory requirements of the Fair Work Act. The Commission determined that the agreement contained all the mandated minimum terms and conditions, was fair and reasonable, and had been properly negotiated and executed in accordance with the Act. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement and ordered its registration. The agreement would now provide the framework for the employment terms and conditions of the employees covered by the agreement.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Victoria) t/a RSPCA

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established