DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Town of Cottesloe
(AG2016/2772)

TOWN OF COTTESLOE ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Local government administration
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 16 MAY 2016

Application for approval of the Town of Cottesloe Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Town of Cottesloe 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 Town of Cottesloe. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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 Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[4] The Agreement was approved on 16 May 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 23 May 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 May 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of the Town of Cottesloe, the applicant, the dispute arose from an application for approval of the Town of Cottesloe Enterprise Agreement 2015, which was brought before the Fair Work Commission. This decision was subsequently challenged in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, where the applicant sought to overturn a previous decision of the Fair Work Commission that had rejected the application. The respondent, in this case, was the Fair Work Commission.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Fair Work Commission had correctly interpreted and applied the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 in rejecting the Town of Cottesloe Enterprise Agreement 2015. Specifically, the court was required to determine whether the Commission had erred in its interpretation of the definition of "employee" and whether there were procedural errors in the Commission's decision-making process.

The court found that the Fair Work Commission had correctly interpreted the definition of "employee" under the Fair Work Act 2009 and had applied the correct legal principles in reaching its decision. The court also determined that there were no procedural errors in the Commission's decision-making process. As a result, the court dismissed the applicant's appeal and upheld the Fair Work Commission's decision to reject the Town of Cottesloe Enterprise Agreement 2015.

The final orders of the court were that the applicant's appeal be dismissed, that the decision of the Fair Work Commission be upheld, and that the costs of the appeal be paid by the applicant.

Town of Cottesloe

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established