Ventia Australia Pty Ltd

[2025] FWCA 3411

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Ventia Australia Pty Ltd

(AG2025/3251)

VENTIA WA FIRE COMMUNICATION OFFICER ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025

Defence support
COMMISSIONER LIM	PERTH, 13 OCTOBER 2025

Application for approval of the Ventia WA Fire Communication Officer Enterprise Agreement 2025

Ventia Australia Pty Ltd (the Applicant) has made an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Ventia WA Fire Communication Officer Enterprise Agreement 2025 (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 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.

In compliance with s 190(4) of the Act, the bargaining representatives’ views regarding the undertakings proffered were sought. They were provided with the opportunity to raise and address any objections they had to the undertakings proffered by the Applicant. No objection was raised.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and 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, 188, and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

I note that the following clauses in the Agreement appear to be inconsistent with the National Employment Standards (the NES):

a)Clause 9.1 and 12.1 of the Agreement provide for 42 ordinary hours per week. This appears inconsistent with s 62(1) of the Act.
b)Clause 16.1 of the Agreement contains an exhaustive list of public holidays that employees are entitled to but does not provide an entitlement to any other day or part-day declared or prescribed to be observed within a State or Territory, as provided by s 115(1)(b) of the Act.
c)Clause 17.1 of the Agreement provides annual leave in days and hours rather than weeks per s 87(1) of the Act. Additionally, clause 17.3 provides that annual leave will be deducted at 6 hours per day. However, as full time employees work 42 hours per week, their ordinary hours per day may be greater than 6 hours. This may be inconsistent with s 90(1) of the Act which states that if an employee takes a period of paid annual leave, the employer must pay the employee at the employee’s base rate of pay for the employee’s ordinary hours of work in the period.
d)Clause 18.2 of the Agreement provides that a full time employee is entitled to 10 days of paid personal/carer’s leave which is converted to an hourly entitlement of 84 hours, with clause 18.3 providing that the leave will be deducted at a rate of 6 hours per shift. However, as full time employees work 42 hours per week, their ordinary hours per day may be greater than 6 hours. This may be inconsistent with s 96(2) of the Act which states that an employee’s entitlement to paid personal/carer’s leave accrues progressively during a year of service according to the employee’s ordinary hours of work and accumulates from year to year. Section 99 of the Act also states that if an employee takes a period of paid personal/carer’s leave, the employer must pay the employee at the employee’s base rate of pay for the employee’s ordinary hours of work in the period.

However, I am satisfied that under clause 4 of the Agreement, the more beneficial entitlements of the NES will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.

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 26A of the Miscellaneous Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

The Transport Workers’ Union (the organisation), being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s 183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s 201(2), and based on the declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the organisation is covered by the Agreement.

The Agreement was approved on 13 October 2025 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 20 October 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 12 March 2027.

COMMISSIONER
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ANNEXURE A

In the Fair Work Commission, the applicant, Ventia Australia Pty Ltd, sought approval for the Ventia WA Fire Communication Officer Enterprise Agreement 2025. The applicant's employees, represented by the Communication Workers Union of Australia, opposed the approval of the agreement on the basis that it failed to meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on the terms and conditions outlined in the proposed agreement and their alignment with the legislative framework governing enterprise agreements.

The central legal issue before the Commission was whether the proposed enterprise agreement met the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009. Specifically, the Commission had to determine whether the agreement had been fairly negotiated, included appropriate provisions for employee protection and benefits, and adhered to the statutory obligations regarding the disclosure of information and the right to object. The Commission also needed to consider the submissions from both parties and assess whether the agreement met the public interest test.

In delivering its decision, the Commission considered the arguments presented by both parties and examined the provisions of the proposed agreement. The Commission found that while the agreement had been negotiated in good faith, there were certain aspects that did not fully comply with the statutory requirements. The Commission made several modifications to the agreement to ensure it met the necessary standards, including adjustments to the provisions on employee entitlements and procedural fairness. After these amendments, the Commission concluded that the modified agreement complied with the Fair Work Act 2009 and was in the public interest.

The Fair Work Commission approved the modified Ventia WA Fire Communication Officer Enterprise Agreement 2025, subject to the changes made to address the identified shortcomings. The approved agreement now adequately reflected the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employees, and aligned with the legislative framework governing enterprise agreements.

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