enterprise agreements
The most important rules that govern an APS workplace are contained in the enterprise agreement, which is sometimes called the 'agency agreement'.
Why is the enterprise agreement so important? The enterprise agreement has the force of an Act of Parliament. (An enterprise agreement is an instrument which falls under section 46 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth). For the purposes of that Act, an enterprise agreement is to be treated "as if it were an Act and as if each provision of the instrument were a section of the Act ".) The enterprise agreement is enforceable through the courts. (Section 50 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) says that a person must not contravene a term of an enterprise agreement. The Fair Work Act imposes civil penalties for contraventions of section 50 (see Item 4 of the Table in section 539). An employee of a Commonwealth Agency has standing to bring an action in respect of a contravention in any of the following: (a) the Federal Court; (b) the Federal Magistrates Court; or (c) an eligible State or Territory Court. The employee can recover civil penalties in respect of contraventions. A contravention generally carries a maximum penalty of 60 penalty units. However, under section 546(2) this is multiplied by 5 if the contravention is by a body corporate. As the Commonwealth is a body corporate, it would be liable for a maximum of 300 penalty units per contravention. For a contravention which occurred before the end of 2012, a penalty unit will be $110, and thus the maximum for each contravention will be $33,000. At the end of 2012, the amount of a penalty unit was increased to $170. |
This site provides a general overview of workplace laws.
This is not legal advice and cannot be relied upon as such. Each enterprise agreement is specific to its particular workplace. If you wish to enforce the terms of an enterprise agreement, you should seek professional legal advice. * * * * * If an action for contravention is successfully brought by a union on behalf of a member, the union will be awarded the monies payable as civil penalties. If an employee successfully brings an action for contravention, in most cases the employee will be awarded the monies payable as civil penalties. In an action for contravention, additional orders may also be sought (including an order for compensation). |