Ventia Australia Pty Ltd - [2025] FWCA 1182

[2025] FWCA 1182

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s 185—Enterprise agreement

Ventia Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2025/367)

VENTIA (MARITIME ASSET MAINTENANCE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Maritime industry
COMMISSIONER LIM	PERTH, 16 APRIL 2025

Application for approval of the Ventia (Maritime Asset Maintenance) Enterprise Agreement 2024 – s 217 application made to vary the Agreement to remove ambiguity or uncertainty – application granted.

Application for Approval

Ventia Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ventia (Maritime Asset Maintenance) Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The application was made under s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The title of the Agreement on the Notice of Employee Representational Rights (the NERR) is “BROADSPECTRUM (MARINE ASSET MAINTENANCE) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020” whilst the Agreement title in Clause 1 is “Ventia (Maritime Asset Maintenance) Enterprise Agreement 2024”. Pursuant to s 188(5) of the Act, I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor technical errors made in relation to the requirements set out in s 174(1A) of the Act. I am satisfied that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by the errors. As a result, I am satisfied that the Agreement has been genuinely agreed within the meaning of s 188(5) of the Act.

On the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement does not contain a delegates’ rights term, as required by s 205A(1) of the Act. Under s 205A(2), the workplace delegates’ rights term in Clause 36A of the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Agreement was approved on 16 April 2025 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 23 April 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 16 April 2029.

Application for Variation

On 12 March 2023, the Australian Workers’ Union sought to be heard on the approval of the Agreement due to concerns regarding the coverage clause of the Agreement (Clause 4). Following a case management conference on 17 March 2025, my Chambers received an application made by Applicant under s 217 of the Act to vary the Agreement to remove an ambiguity or uncertainty in the Agreement.

The application for the variation was made with the consent of the bargaining representatives. The variation sought is to insert the following text into Clause 3 of the Agreement (the Variation):

Maritime assets and facilities means coastal infrastructure assets currently owned or operated by the Department of Transport (Public Boat Harbours), local government or private marinas, including but not limited to the following: breakwaters, groynes, revetments, rock walls; carparks and boat ramps;…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Ventia Australia Pty Ltd

Details

AGLC: Ventia Australia Pty Ltd [2025] FWCA 1182
Case: [2025] FWCA 1182
Decision Date: 16 APRIL 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Ventia Australia Pty Ltd applied for approval of the Ventia (Maritime Asset Maintenance) Enterprise Agreement 2024. The application also sought to vary the agreement to remove ambiguity or uncertainty. The Commission was required to determine whether the proposed variations were necessary to ensure clarity and to maintain fair and effective operation of the agreement.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed variations to the agreement sufficiently addressed the identified ambiguities or uncertainties, thereby ensuring that the agreement operated fairly and effectively. The application hinged on whether these changes would indeed clarify the provisions in question without introducing new complexities or contradictions.

The Commission found that the proposed variations were appropriate and necessary to remove the identified ambiguities and uncertainties. The changes were deemed to enhance the clarity and enforceability of the agreement, thus supporting its fair and effective operation. Consequently, the Commission granted the application and approved the variations to the agreement.

The final orders of the Commission included the approval of the Ventia (Maritime Asset Maintenance) Enterprise Agreement 2024, as varied to remove ambiguity or uncertainty, with effect from the date of the decision. The Commission's ruling ensured that the amended agreement would operate in a fair and effective manner, addressing the concerns raised in the application.

Orders