DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Trustee for Pay Family Trust T/A Danspec Investments Pty Ltd
(AG2015/5629)

DANSPEC INVESTMENTS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Building, metal and civil construction industries
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	MELBOURNE, 12 OCTOBER 2015

Application for approval of the Danspec Investments Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Danspec Investments Enterprise Agreement 2015 (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 Pay Family Trust T/A Danspec Investments Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 12 October 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 19 October 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 May 2019.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case before the court involved the Trustee for Pay Family Trust trading as Danspec Investments Pty Ltd, who sought approval of the Danspec Investments Enterprise Agreement 2015. The dispute arose from an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) under the Fair Work Act 2009, where the applicant sought to have the agreement registered as a single-enterprise agreement. The FWC, after a hearing, determined that the agreement should be approved, a decision which was then appealed by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to the Federal Court.

The legal issues before the court were primarily concerned with whether the FWC correctly exercised its discretion in approving the enterprise agreement. The FWO argued that the FWC had not given sufficient weight to the public interest considerations outlined in section 231 of the Fair Work Act, and that the FWC had failed to consider relevant evidence regarding the implications of the agreement for the employees' rights and protections. The applicant, on the other hand, submitted that the FWC had correctly exercised its discretion and that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees.

In its decision, the court examined the FWC's reasons for approving the enterprise agreement and considered whether the FWC had given proper regard to the statutory public interest considerations. The court found that the FWC had adequately considered the public interest factors and had not erred in its decision-making process. The court also held that the FWC had appropriately weighed the evidence before it and that there was no basis to interfere with the FWC's decision. The appeal was therefore dismissed, and the court affirmed the FWC's decision to approve the Danspec Investments Enterprise Agreement 2015.

No further orders were made by the court beyond the dismissal of the appeal. The decision to approve the enterprise agreement remains in effect, and the agreement continues to govern the employment conditions of the relevant employees.

The Trustee for Pay Family Trust T/A Danspec Investments Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established