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[8]
austlii:cth/FWCA/2025/2121
General information, not legal advice.
FWCA
2025-06-27
Original judgment source is linked above.
s.185 - Enterprise agreement
INVOCARE SOUTH AUSTRALIA FUNERALS OPERATIONS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2025
Application for approval of the InvoCare South Australia Funerals Operations Enterprise Agreement 2025.
[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the InvoCare South Australia Funerals Operations Enterprise Agreement 2025 (the Agreement). The Application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act). It has been made by Invocare Pty Ltd (the Employer). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.
[2] The Notice of Employee Representational Rights issued to employees on 19 December 2024 titled the Agreement as the InvoCare South Australia Funerals Industry Enterprise Agreement 2025 whilst the Agreement is titled the InvoCare South Australia Funerals Operations Enterprise Agreement 2025. I am satisfied having regard to the Full Bench decision in Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty Ltd T/A RMAX Rigid Cellular Plastics & Others[1] that this constitutes a minor technical or procedural error for the purposes of s 188(5)(a) of the Act. Further, I am satisfied that employees were not likely to have been disadvantaged by this error.
[3] The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached at 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.
[4] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, I am satisfied that each requirement of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met. For the purposes of the better off overall test, I have had regard to each of the matters in s 193A(2)-(7).
[5] The Agreement does not contain a model flexibility term compliant with the Act. Pursuant to s.202(4) and Clause 107 of Schedule 1 of the Act, the model flexibility term as prescribed by the Fair Work (Model Terms) Determination 2025 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.
[6] The Agreement does not contain a delegates' rights term, as required by s.205A(1) of the Act. The workplace delegates' rights term in Clause 27A of the Funeral Industry Award 2020 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.
[7] The Agreement is approved, and in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 4 July 2025. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 31 December 2028.
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