DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

TPD Civil Pty Ltd T/A Australian Civil Contractors
(AG2015/6575)

TPD CIVIL PTY LTD

Building, metal and civil construction industries
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 27 NOVEMBER 2015

Application for approval of the TPD CIVIL PTY LTD.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the TPD CIVIL PTY LTD (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by TPD Civil Pty Ltd T/A Australian Civil Contractors. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The application was not lodged within 14 days after the agreement was made. Pursuant to s.185(3)(b), in all the circumstances I consider it fair to extend the time for making the application to the date it was actually made.

[5] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 27 November 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 4 December 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 28 September 2015.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

ANNEXURE A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The parties involved in the case were TPD Civil Pty Ltd trading as Australian Civil Contractors and the Fair Work Commission. The dispute centered around the approval of a new enterprise agreement by the Fair Work Commission. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The applicant, TPD Civil Pty Ltd, sought approval of an enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission, which had been rejected. The applicant argued that the rejection was unlawful and sought a review of the Commission's decision.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Fair Work Commission had the authority to reject the enterprise agreement and whether the Commission had acted lawfully in its decision. The court needed to determine whether the agreement met the criteria for approval under the Fair Work Act 2009 and whether the Commission's decision was based on proper legal principles. Additionally, the court considered whether the applicant had standing to challenge the Commission's decision.

The court found that the Fair Work Commission had the authority to reject the enterprise agreement if it did not meet the criteria for approval. The court held that the Commission had acted lawfully in its decision and that the agreement did not meet the necessary requirements for approval. The court also confirmed that the applicant had standing to challenge the Commission's decision. The applicant's appeal was dismissed, and the Commission's decision was upheld.

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia dismissed the applicant's appeal and upheld the Fair Work Commission's decision to reject the enterprise agreement. The court confirmed that the Commission had the authority to reject the agreement and that its decision was lawful and based on proper legal principles. The court found that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval and that the applicant did not have standing to challenge the Commission's decision. The applicant was ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.

TPD Civil Pty Ltd T/A Australian Civil Contractors

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established