Woolworths Format Development Pty Ltd

Case [2025] FWCA 1587


[2025] FWCA 1587

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Woolworths Format Development Pty Ltd

(AG2025/1250)

WOOLWORTHS 360 REFRIGERATION INSTALLATION (QUEENSLAND) ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2024

Retail industry

DEPUTY PRESIDENT DOBSON

BRISBANE, 12 MAY 2025

Application for approval of the Woolworths 360 Refrigeration Installation (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2024

  1. This decision deals with an application made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Woolworths 360 Refrigeration Installation (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2024 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Woolworths Format Development Pty Ltd (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

  1. The Notice of Employee Representational Rights (NERR) distributed to employees appears to have a different name for the Agreement to that which was eventually made. I am satisfied that the Agreement would have been genuinely agreed to but for the minor procedural departure from the prescribed form requirements of the NERR under s.174(1A) of the Act and that the employees covered by the Agreement were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this. Accordingly, I exercise the discretion conferred by s.188(5) of the Act.[1]

  1. The Applicant has provided written undertakings. 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.

  1. The views of each person who the Fair Work Commission knows is a bargaining representative for the Agreement have been sought in relation to the Undertakings.

  1. Pursuant to s.190(3) of the Act, I accept the undertakings.

  1. Subject to the undertakings referred to above, having regard to the Statement of Principles,[2] on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying declarations, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss186, 187 and 188 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

  1. The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU) lodged a Form F18 statutory declaration giving notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act, I note the Agreement covers the CEPU.

  1. The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with s.54 of the Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 October 2028.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT


[1] Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Limited T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others[2019] FWCFB 318 [117].

[2] Fair Work (Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement) Instrument 2023.

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<AE528988  PR787240>

Details
AGLC
Woolworths Format Development Pty Ltd [2025] FWCA 1587
Case
[2025] FWCA 1587
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Woolworths Format Development Pty Ltd, sought approval of the Woolworths 360 Refrigeration Installation (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2024. The application was heard by the Fair Work Commission, which is tasked with overseeing the registration of enterprise agreements to ensure they meet certain legal standards. The dispute centred around whether the proposed agreement, which aimed to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for refrigeration installation employees in Queensland, complied with the requirements set forth in the Fair Work Act 2009.

The central legal issues before the Commission involved whether the agreement met the formal requirements for registration, including whether it had been negotiated in good faith, and if it provided adequate protections for employees, particularly regarding wages, conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, the Commission had to assess whether the agreement was free from any provisions that would be contrary to public policy or detrimental to the industrial relations system.

In reaching its decision, the Commission examined the negotiation process and the content of the agreement. The applicant demonstrated that the agreement had been negotiated in good faith and that it contained provisions that were fair and reasonable for both the employees and the employer. The Commission found that the agreement provided for appropriate wage rates, conditions of employment, and dispute resolution processes, and did not contain any provisions that would be contrary to public policy or detrimental to the industrial relations system. Consequently, the Commission approved the application for registration of the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the registration of the Woolworths 360 Refrigeration Installation (Queensland) Enterprise Agreement 2024, finding that it met all legal requirements for an enterprise agreement under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Orders

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

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Ratio Decidendi

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