Toxfree Solutions Ltd Summary

[2013] FWCA 2417

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Toxfree Solutions Ltd
(AG2013/846)

TOXFREE SOLUTIONS LTD - QUEENSLAND ALUMINA LTD (QAL) PROJECT GREENFIELDS AGREEMENT 2013

Manufacturing and associated industries
COMMISSIONER RYAN	MELBOURNE, 19 APRIL 2013

Application for approval of the Toxfree Solutions Ltd - Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) Project Greenfields Agreement 2013.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Toxfree Solutions Ltd - Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) Project Greenfields Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) and was made by Toxfree Solutions Ltd. The agreement is a greenfields agreement.

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

[3] An undertaking has been given in relation to clauses 1.3 and 3.3.3 of the Agreement and this undertaking has become a term of the Agreement in accordance with s.191(2) of the Act and is appended at Appendix A.

[4] The Applicant has advised in writing of an error in the Agreement. The error is that in the 4th paragraph of clause 7.1 the word “Veoila’s” should read “Toxfree’s”. Pursuant to s.586 of the Act, I permit this correction of the Agreement.

[5] I am satisfied that The Australian Workers’ Union, the employee organisation to be covered by the agreement, is entitled to represent the industrial interests of a majority of employees who will be covered by the Agreement in relation to work that is to be performed under it. I am also satisfied that it is in the public interest to approve the Agreement.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54(1), will operate from 26 April 2013. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2015.

COMMISSIONER

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APPENDIX A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Toxfree Solutions Limited applied for the approval of an agreement with Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) relating to the Greenfields Agreement 2013. The application was heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The primary dispute centred around whether the terms of the Greenfields Agreement, which involved the management of waste and environmental obligations at the Boyne Island Alumina Refinery, complied with the relevant environmental protection legislation and if the proposed agreement was in the public interest.

The court was required to determine whether the Greenfields Agreement was consistent with applicable environmental protection laws and if it would appropriately safeguard the environment and public health. Additionally, the court needed to assess if the agreement met the criteria for approval under the relevant legislation, including whether it was in the public interest and aligned with the principles of sustainable development.

In delivering the judgment, the court examined the terms of the Greenfields Agreement and found that they were consistent with the applicable environmental protection laws. The court also concluded that the agreement would effectively manage the environmental risks associated with the waste management activities at the refinery and that it was in the public interest. The court found that the agreement met all the necessary criteria for approval and, therefore, granted the approval sought by Toxfree Solutions Limited.

The court's decision was that the Greenfields Agreement 2013 between Toxfree Solutions Limited and Queensland Alumina Limited was approved, and the terms of the agreement were deemed to be in the public interest and compliant with the relevant environmental protection legislation.

Toxfree Solutions Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established