The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.) Summary

[2014] FWCA 2693

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.)
(AG2014/917)

BLUE CARE/WESLEY MISSION BRISBANE ALLIED HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICE STREAM EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Social, community, home care and disability services
COMMISSIONER SIMPSON	BRISBANE, 24 APRIL 2014

Application for approval of the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Allied Health and Community Service Stream Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Allied Health and Community Service Stream Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[3] The Together Queensland Industrial Union of Employees and the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, being the bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[4] The agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.) was before the Fair Work Commission in an application for the approval of the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Allied Health and Community Service Stream Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013. The applicants, Blue Care and Wesley Mission, sought approval for the agreement which covered a number of employees working in allied health and community services within the Brisbane region. The dispute centred on whether the terms of the proposed agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.

The primary legal issues the Commission had to address were whether the agreement met the requirements for "genuine agreement" as per section 230 of the Act, and whether it adhered to the "better off overall test" stipulated in section 232 of the Act. This involved scrutinising whether the agreement was negotiated in good faith and whether it provided employees with outcomes no less favourable than the applicable award or safety net. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement contained provisions that were contrary to public policy or were otherwise invalid.

In deliberating on these issues, the Commission examined the negotiation process, the content of the agreement, and its compliance with the statutory framework. The Commission was satisfied that the agreement was genuinely negotiated and that it provided employees with outcomes that were no less favourable than the relevant award or safety net. The Commission concluded that the agreement was fair and appropriate for approval, taking into account the specific needs and circumstances of the employees covered by the agreement. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, finding it met all the necessary statutory requirements.

The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q.)

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established