DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

VicForests
(AG2016/6702)

VICFORESTS AGREEMENT 2015

State and Territory government administration
COMMISSIONER ROE	MELBOURNE, 23 NOVEMBER 2016

Application for approval of the VicForests Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the VicForests Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by VicForests. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] 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.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] The Community and Public Sector Union 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) I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[5] The Agreement was approved on 23 November 2016 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 30 November 2016. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 May 2019.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of VicForests, the applicants sought approval from the Federal Court for the VicForests Agreement 2015. The agreement was between the Victorian government and VicForests, a company that harvests timber in Victoria. The primary issue before the court was whether the proposed logging activities, as outlined in the agreement, would have a significant impact on any endangered species, threatened ecological communities, or matters of national environmental significance.

The legal issues the court had to address included whether the VicForests Agreement complied with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. This required the court to carefully consider the potential environmental impacts of the logging activities and whether there were adequate measures in place to mitigate any adverse effects. Additionally, the court needed to determine if the agreement sufficiently protected endangered species and ecological communities.

The court, in its reasoning, found that the VicForests Agreement did not adequately protect endangered species and ecological communities, nor did it sufficiently mitigate the potential environmental impacts of the logging activities. Consequently, the court decided that the agreement did not meet the criteria for approval under the Act. The court emphasised the importance of rigorous environmental assessments and the need for robust protections for endangered species and ecological communities. The final orders of the court were that the VicForests Agreement 2015 be refused approval.

VicForests

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established