Teys Australia Beenleigh Pty Ltd v Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (No 2) [2016] FCA 2

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Teys Australia Beenleigh Pty Ltd v Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (No 2) [2016] FCA 2 File number: QUD 847 of 2015

Judge: BROMBERG J

Date of judgment: 5 January 2016

Catchwords: INDUSTRIAL LAW – application by employer company seeking declaration that clauses of a document constituting an "incentive payment system" for piece-rate remuneration of its employees were not part of, and did not vary, the relevant enterprise agreement ("EA") – cl 3.10.1 of EA contemplated that where "parties" agreed on terms and conditions to remunerate employees under incentive payment system, such terms and conditions would be incorporated into the EA – EA made on 6 January 2009; document containing incentive payment system executed on 23 November 2009; application for approval of EA by Fair Work Commission ("Commission") made 24 November 2009; EA operative 1 January 2010 – whether s 257 Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and s 46AA Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) ("incorporation provisions") limited to authorising only incorporation of material in existence at the time of the making of an EA – incorporation provisions not so limited – whether incorporation of material otherwise than in existence at the time of the making of an EA inconsistent with or repugnant to the scheme of the FW Act for variation of EAs – that nature of incorporation not inconsistent with or repugnant to the scheme of the FW Act – consideration of how apparent tension between FW Act scheme for approval and variation of EAs on the one hand, and incorporation provisions on the other hand, is reconcilable – consideration of Commission's supervisory role on approval and variation of EAs – consideration of whether permissible to read words into s 257 FW Act – consideration of whether cl 3.10.1 is a "facilitative provision".