DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.210—Enterprise agreement

The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia
(AG2020/2335)

LIFEHOUSE MEDICAL PHYSICISTS AGREEMENT 2019

Health and welfare services
DEPUTY PRESIDENT MASSON	MELBOURNE, 2 SEPTEMBER 2020

Application for variation of the Lifehouse Medical Physicists Agreement 2019.

[1] An application has been made for approval of a variation to the Lifehouse Medical Physicists Agreement 2019 (the Agreement). The application was made by The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia pursuant to section 210 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).

[2] The application seeks to vary various clauses of the Agreement. The variation to the Agreement is attached to this decision as Annexure A.

[3] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.210 and 211 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval of a variation have been met.

[4] The Applicant provided written undertakings to meet concerns that particular requirements of ss.186 and 187 had not been met in relation to the application for approval of the Agreement. The undertakings were accepted and the Agreement was approved on 24 May 2019. Those undertakings form part of the Agreement as varied.

[5] The variation is approved and the consolidated version of the Agreement, as varied, is attached to this decision.

[6] In accordance with s.216 of the Act, the variation operates from 14 July 2020.

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 applicant sought variation of the Lifehouse Medical Physicists Agreement 2019. The respondents, who were medical physicists, sought to have certain terms of the agreement altered, including the calculation of superannuation and the duration of certain employment clauses. The case was heard in the Fair Work Commission.

The central legal issues in the dispute revolved around the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically in relation to the process for varying an enterprise agreement. The primary contention was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements for making an application to vary an enterprise agreement and whether the proposed variations were in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness and good faith bargaining. The respondents argued that the application did not meet the statutory criteria and that the proposed changes would be detrimental to their employment conditions.

The Fair Work Commission found that the applicant had not complied with the procedural requirements for making an application to vary an enterprise agreement. The Commission held that the application did not adequately demonstrate that the applicant had first attempted to negotiate the proposed variations with the respondents in good faith. Additionally, the Commission determined that the proposed variations, particularly those concerning superannuation and employment duration, did not align with the principles of good faith bargaining and procedural fairness. Consequently, the Commission dismissed the application for variation of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission ordered that the application for variation of the Lifehouse Medical Physicists Agreement 2019 be dismissed and that the original agreement remain in effect without alteration. The Commission further directed that the applicant and respondents engage in further negotiations in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable resolution on the disputed terms.

The Trustee For Lifehouse Australia Trust T/A Lifehouse Australia

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established