austlii:cth/FWCA/2026/856
General information, not legal advice.
FWCA
2026-04-02
Original judgment source is linked above.
s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement
DHL Express (Australia) Pty Ltd trading as DHL Express
DHL EXPRESS AUSTRALIA QLD/NT OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025
Application for approval of the DHL Express Australia QLD/NT Operations Enterprise Agreement 2025
[1] DHL Express (Australia) Pty Ltd ("the Employer") has applied for approval of an enterprise agreement known as DHL Express Australia QLD/NT Operations Enterprise Agreement 2025 ("the Agreement"). The Application was made under section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 ("the Fair Work Act"). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.
[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights omitted the Agreement's coverage. DHL submitted, among other things, that, no employee was disadvantaged because of the omission, and the Agreement's coverage has remained unchanged and mirrors that of its predecessor agreements. I accept those submissions. For the purposes of subsection 188(5) I am satisfied that this was a minor technical error and not likely to disadvantage any employees in the circumstances.
[3] Noting clause 7 of the Agreement, I am satisfied that the more beneficial entitlements of the National Employment Standards ("NES") in the Fair Work Act will prevail where there is an inconsistency between the Agreement and the NES.
[4] The Employer has given written undertakings in accordance with section 190 of the Fair Work Act. The undertakings are attached as Annexure A to this decision. I am satisfied that each undertaking is not likely to cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and does not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. Each undertaking is taken to be a term of the Agreement.
[5] With the undertakings now given, and after having regard to the Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement as well as the application and declarations filed in this matter, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Fair Work Act, as are relevant to this application for approval, have been met.
[6] The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) lodged a declaration in the prescribed form[1] giving notice under s.183 of the Fair Work Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with subsection 201(2) of the Fair Work Act, I note the Agreement covers the TWU.
[7] The Agreement is approved and will operate in accordance with section 54 of the Fair Work Act. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 9 April 2029.
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