The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia

[2025] FWCA 2823

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia

(AG2025/2758)

CHRIS O’BRIEN LIFEHOUSE NURSES AGREEMENT 2025

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT DEAN	CANBERRA, 22 AUGUST 2025

Application for approval of the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Nurses Agreement 2025.

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Nurses Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

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

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 29 August 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Trustee for Lifehouse Australia Trust, trading as Lifehouse Australia, the court was tasked with determining the application for the approval of the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Nurses Agreement 2025. The Trust sought to have the agreement approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred around the appropriateness and compliance of the proposed agreement with the statutory requirements for a registered agreement, specifically focusing on the agreement’s provisions and its alignment with the Fair Work Act.

The court was required to consider whether the proposed agreement met the criteria for registration as set out in the Fair Work Act, including whether the agreement was sufficiently representative and whether it provided for the proper administration of the agreement. The primary issues were whether the agreement was negotiated in good faith and whether it contained all the necessary provisions, including the essential terms that are required by the Act. The court also needed to assess whether the agreement complied with the general protections provisions of the Act.

The court found that the proposed agreement was negotiated in good faith and contained all the essential terms required by the Fair Work Act. It determined that the agreement was sufficiently representative of the nurses and aligned with the statutory requirements for a registered agreement. The court also confirmed that the agreement provided for the proper administration of the agreement and met the criteria for registration. Consequently, the court approved the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Nurses Agreement 2025 as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009. The decision was based on the comprehensive compliance of the agreement with the legislative framework and the representation of the nurses' interests.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established