ResMed Limited v Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union [2015] FCA 360

ResMed Limited v Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union [2015] FCA 360

The Court held that there is no textual support in s 236 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for the restriction contended for by ResMed; an employee organisation may apply for a majority support determination if it is a bargaining representative for at least one employee who will be covered by the proposed agreement,...

Source-derived case information.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
20 April 2015
Procedural Posture
Application for Judicial Review / Final Judgment
Outcome
Application dismissed
Legal Topics
['enterprise Agreements' 'majority Support Determination' 'employee Organisation Standing' 'statutory Construction']
['industrial Law' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['enterprise Agreements' 'majority Support Determination' 'employee Organisation Standing' 'statutory Construction']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Judicial Review / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the application for a majority support determination under s 236 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) by an employee organisation is valid if the proposed enterprise agreement covers employees not eligible for membership of the employee organisation' 'Whether employee organisations are restricted in their capacity to apply for a majority support determination based on their eligibility rules']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that there is no textual support in s 236 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for the restriction contended for by ResMed; an employee organisation may apply for a majority support determination if it is a bargaining representative for at least one employee who will be covered by the proposed agreement, irrespective of whether other employees to be covered are not eligible for membership. The purpose and context of the FW Act, as well as prior case law, reinforce that such a restriction cannot be implied.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed

Orders

  • ['The application is dismissed.' 'The question of costs is reserved.']