Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd Summary

[2025] FWCA 396

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd

(AG2024/4982)

TREESCAPE AUSTRALASIA PTY LIMITED ELECTRICAL SUPPLY INDUSTRY QUEENSLAND ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024 -2028

Electrical contracting industry
COMMISSIONER DURHAM	BRISBANE, 31 JANUARY 2025

Application for approval of the Treescape Australasia Pty Limited Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024 -2028

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Treescape Australasia Pty Limited Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024 -2028 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

Noting clause 7.4.5 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial delegates’ rights between the Agreement and the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2020 will prevail.

Noting clause 1.4 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the NES in the Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

On 29 January 2025, the Applicant filed an undertaking as the agreement lodged contained a typographical error at Schedule 2. I am satisfied that the corrections should be made and that it is appropriate to do so pursuant to s.586 of the Act.

The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (ETU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the ETU.

The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 March 2028.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd, a company in the electrical supply industry, and the Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement for 2024 to 2028. The dispute was centred on the approval process for the proposed enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Commission, Australia's workplace relations tribunal, was tasked with reviewing the application for the agreement's approval.

The central legal issue before the Fair Work Commission was whether the proposed agreement complied with the relevant provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the tribunal needed to determine if the agreement met the requirements for good faith bargaining, as well as other statutory criteria such as the protection of employee rights and interests. The tribunal also had to consider if the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for employees, including any provisions related to wages, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Fair Work Commission assessed the application by examining the bargaining process and the contents of the proposed agreement. The tribunal found that the agreement was the product of genuine and fair bargaining efforts and that it met all statutory requirements for approval. The tribunal concluded that the agreement provided fair and reasonable terms for employees and did not contravene any provisions of the Fair Work Act. The tribunal approved the application, confirming the agreement's validity for the specified period.

The final order of the tribunal was to approve the Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd Electrical Supply Industry Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2024-2028, effective from the date of the decision. The tribunal's approval ensures that the agreement can be implemented, providing a framework for employment conditions within the electrical supply industry in Queensland for the next four years.

Treescape Australasia Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established