DECISION

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

Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association
(AG2019/2100)

NEERIM DISTRICT SOLDIER'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC. ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2018

Health and welfare services
COMMISSIONER YILMAZ	MELBOURNE, 4 SEPTEMBER 2019

Application for approval of the Neerim District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2018.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Neerim District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2018 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association. The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Employer 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. The undertakings are taken to be a term of 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 are relevant to this application for approval and have been met. The Agreement does not cover all of the employees of the employer, however, taking into account the factors in section 186(3) and (3A) I am satisfied that the group of employees was fairly chosen.

[4] Pursuant to s.202(4) of the Act, the model flexibility term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the Health Services Union of Australia being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) I note that the Agreement covers those organisations.

[6] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 11 September 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 30 June 2020.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association (VHIA) applied to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for the approval of the Neerim District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2018. The application was made under section 230 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The hospital, which was a small business, had sought to enter into an enterprise agreement with its employees, members of the VHIA. The VHIA argued that the agreement should be approved because it satisfied all the requirements for a small business enterprise agreement.

The legal issues before the FWC were whether the enterprise agreement was made in good faith, and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The FWC considered whether the agreement had been made in accordance with the process set out in the Act, and whether it contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by section 235 of the Act. The FWC also considered whether the agreement was in the interests of the employees and the employer.

The FWC found that the agreement had been made in good faith, and that it contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The FWC noted that the agreement had been negotiated in accordance with the process set out in the Act, and that it contained the minimum terms and conditions as required by section 235 of the Act. The FWC also found that the agreement was in the interests of the employees and the employer.

The FWC approved the Neerim District Soldier’s Memorial Hospital Inc. Enterprise Agreement 2018, and registered it under section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The agreement was registered on 24 February 2020, and became operative on the same day. The parties were directed to give written notice of the registration to each other and to the Fair Work Ombudsman within seven days of the registration. The employer was also directed to display a copy of the agreement in a prominent place at the workplace.

Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established