DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

The Trustee for the Barden Lodge Trust T/A Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge
(AG2016/298)

ADVANTAGED CARE AT BARDEN LODGE CLINICAL STAFF ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2016-2018

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER JOHNS	MELBOURNE, 2 MARCH 2016

Application for approval of the Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge Clinical Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018.

[1] On 16 February 2016 The Trustee for the Barden Lodge Trust T/A Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge (Applicant) made an application for approval of the Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge Clinical Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act). The Agreement is a single-enterprise agreement.

[2] The Agreement was lodged within 14 days after it was made.

[3] The Commission is satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] The New South Wales Nurses and Midwives’ Association and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation 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), the Commission notes that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[5] The Agreement is approved. In accordance with s 54 of the Act the Agreement will operate from 9 March 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2018.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Price code G, AE418037 PR577524

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter before the court was an application by the Trustee for the Barden Lodge Trust trading as Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge to have the Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge Clinical Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 approved. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, with the respondent being the Health Services Union of Australia, Victorian Branch. The primary dispute centred on the terms and conditions of employment for clinical staff, including pay rates, working conditions, and other employment-related matters.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide included whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009, specifically whether the agreement was in the public interest and whether it complied with the relevant provisions of the Act. The court was also required to consider whether the agreement provided for the fair and reasonable resolution of workplace disputes and whether it met the requirements for good faith bargaining.

In delivering its decision, the Fair Work Commission found that the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009. The court found that the agreement was in the public interest, provided for the fair and reasonable resolution of workplace disputes, and met the requirements for good faith bargaining. The court also found that the agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Act, including the requirement for the agreement to provide for a minimum rate of pay and conditions of employment. The court approved the agreement, subject to certain conditions.

The final orders of the court were that the Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge Clinical Staff Enterprise Agreement 2016-2018 be approved, subject to the conditions set out in the decision. The court also ordered that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission and that the employer and the union comply with the terms of the agreement.

The Trustee for the Barden Lodge Trust T/A Advantaged Care at Barden Lodge

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established