DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.225—Enterprise agreement

Toowoomba Turf Club Inc
(AG2019/1618)

TOOWOOMBA TURF CLUB ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2010

Racing industry
COMMISSIONER BOOTH	BRISBANE, 17 JUNE 2019

Application for termination of the Toowoomba Turf Club Enterprise Agreement 2010.

[1] An application has been made pursuant to s.225 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) to terminate the Toowoomba Turf Club Enterprise Agreement 2010 (the Agreement). The nominal expiry date of the Agreement was 21 June 2013.

[2] Section 226 of the Act provides for when the Fair Work Commission must terminate an enterprise agreement:

“226 When the FWC must terminate an enterprise agreement

If an application for the termination of an enterprise agreement is made under section 225, the FWC must terminate the agreement if:

(a) the FWC is satisfied that it is not contrary to the public interest to do so; and

(b) the FWC considers that it is appropriate to terminate the agreement taking into account all the circumstances including:

(i) the views of the employees, each employer, and each employee organisation (if any), covered by the agreement; and

(ii) the circumstances of those employees, employers and organisations including the likely effect that the termination will have on each of them.”

[3] The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) are a party to the Agreement. The AWU was invited to provide any views on the termination of the Agreement by email on 21 May 2019.

[4] The AWU submitted that it held no opposition to the termination of the Agreement on the basis that the rates of pay in the Agreement had clearly been overtaken by the relevant Modern Award.

[5] The Employer did not provide any evidence that it had consulted or sought the views of its employees regarding the termination of the Agreement. Accordingly, my Chambers emailed the Employer on 30 May 2019 seeking advice on whether the employees had any views in relation to the termination of the Agreement.

[6] The Employer responded on 2 June 2019 stating that the employees had no view on the termination as they were already being paid under the Award. The Employer also provided a Statutory Declaration to the Commission that the termination would have no effect on its employees as the employees were already paid at Award rates.

[7] In all these circumstances I consider that it is not contrary to public interest to do so.

[8] I am satisfied that the requirements of s.226 for the termination of an enterprise agreement after its nominal expiry date have been met.

[9] The termination of the Agreement is approved with effect from 17 June 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

In the case of Toowoomba Turf Club Inc, the applicant sought to terminate the existing enterprise agreement with its employees. The matter was heard in the Fair Work Commission, where the primary issue was whether the application met the criteria set out in section 239 of the Fair Work Act 2009 for terminating an enterprise agreement. The Toowoomba Turf Club argued that significant and unavoidable economic disadvantage had occurred, warranting the termination of the agreement.

The Commission examined the evidence provided regarding the economic conditions and the impact on the club's business. It was necessary to determine if the changes in the circumstances were unforeseeable and substantial enough to warrant a termination. The Commission considered the nature and extent of the economic hardship, the efforts made to mitigate the impact, and whether the employees were adequately consulted. The evidence showed that while the club had faced economic challenges, it had not demonstrated that these were unforeseeable or that the changes in circumstances were significant enough to justify termination under the Act.

After thorough consideration of the arguments and evidence, the Commission found that the application did not meet the stringent criteria required for terminating the enterprise agreement. The Toowoomba Turf Club's economic difficulties, while notable, did not constitute the unforeseeable and substantial change necessary to warrant termination. Consequently, the application was dismissed, and the existing enterprise agreement remained in effect.

Toowoomba Turf Club Inc

DECISION

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