DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Unified Fire Protection Pty Ltd
(AG2019/5019)

UNIFIED FIRE PROTECTION GROUP PTY LTD, - ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2019 - 2021

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT BOYCE	SYDNEY, 14 FEBRUARY 2020

Application for approval of the Unified Fire Protection Group Pty Ltd, - Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2021.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement to be known as the Unified Fire Protection Group Pty Ltd, - Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2021 (Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Act). It has been made by Unified Fire Protection Pty Ltd (Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer has provided written undertakings dated 13 February 2020. Those undertakings are attached at Annexure A to this decision and become terms of the Agreement. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement (as compared to the relevant provisions of the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010), 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 of the Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.

[4] I am satisfied the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

[5] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 21 February 2020. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 February 2024

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Unified Fire Protection Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2021. The applicant, a fire protection services provider, and the respondent, a union representing the applicant's employees, had entered into the agreement. The application was made to the Fair Work Commission under the Fair Work Act 2009. The union opposed the application on the basis that the agreement did not meet certain statutory requirements.

The central legal issue was whether the agreement was a "direct substitution" of an existing agreement. This would require the union to give notice to its members to approve the new agreement. The union argued that the new agreement was a direct substitution, while the applicant contended that it was not. The court had to determine whether the new agreement constituted a direct substitution of the existing agreement.

The court examined the terms of both agreements and found that the new agreement did not directly substitute the existing agreement. Instead, the new agreement built upon the existing agreement, introducing new provisions and modifying existing ones. The court held that the union was not required to give notice to its members to approve the new agreement. The court approved the agreement and found in favour of the applicant. The union's opposition to the application was dismissed.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Enterprise Agreement 2019 - 2021. The union's opposition was dismissed, and the applicant's application for approval was granted. The agreement was approved as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Unified Fire Protection Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established