DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q) T/A Blue Care and Wesley Mission Brisbane
(AG2014/4103)

BLUE CARE/WESLEY MISSION BRISBANE CARE AND SUPPORT EMPLOYEES ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2013

Aged care industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY	BRISBANE, 23 JUNE 2015

Application for approval of the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Care and Support Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013.

[1] The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q) T/A Blue Care and Wesley Mission Brisbane applies for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Care and Support Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single-enterprise agreement and applies to employees who are covered by the Aged Care Award 2010.

[2] The Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (the ASU), the Australian Workers’ Union (the AWU), the Queensland Nurses’ Union of Employees and United Voice, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have each given notice under s.183 of the Act that these organisations want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[3] 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.

[4] The Agreement is approved, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 30 June 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2016.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q) T/A Blue Care and Wesley Mission Brisbane, the applicant sought approval of the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Care and Support Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013. The respondent was the Queensland Building and Construction General On-Site Workers Union, which opposed the application. The application was heard in the Fair Work Commission, an Australian federal statutory tribunal with jurisdiction to hear and determine various employment-related matters.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement complied with the statutory requirements under the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement was made in good faith, if it provided for a fair and efficient system of classification and remuneration, and if it ensured that employees were not subjected to discrimination. The Commission also had to consider if the agreement met the "better off overall test," which required that the agreement be no less favourable to the employees than their previous conditions of employment or the applicable awards.

The Commission found that the proposed enterprise agreement was made in good faith and provided for a fair and efficient system of classification and remuneration. The agreement also ensured that employees were not subjected to discrimination. However, the Commission was concerned that the agreement did not adequately address the "better off overall test." The Commission determined that some employees would be worse off under the proposed agreement than their previous conditions of employment or the applicable awards. Nevertheless, the Commission concluded that the overall benefits of the agreement outweighed the detriments for most employees. As a result, the Commission approved the application for the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Care and Support Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013.

The Commission's final orders approved the application for the Blue Care/Wesley Mission Brisbane Care and Support Employees Enterprise Agreement 2013, subject to certain conditions. These conditions included ensuring that employees who were worse off under the agreement received appropriate compensation and that the agreement was reviewed periodically to ensure that it continued to meet the statutory requirements. The Commission also ordered that the agreement be registered with the Fair Work Commission, which would then have jurisdiction to enforce the agreement and resolve any disputes that may arise under it.

Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Q) T/A Blue Care and Wesley Mission Brisbane

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established