New South Wales Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996 - SECT 35

35 Approval of enterprise agreement by Commission

(1) The Commission is to approve each enterprise agreement lodged for approval, but only if the Commission is satisfied that--

(a) the agreement complies with all relevant statutory requirements (including the requirements of this Part and of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 ), and

(b) in the case of an agreement that covers employees to whom State awards would otherwise apply--the agreement does not, on balance, provide a net detriment to the employees when compared with the aggregate package of conditions of employment under the State awards, and

(b1) in the case of an agreement that covers employees to whom Federal awards would otherwise apply--the employees are not disadvantaged in comparison to their entitlements under the Federal awards, and

(b2) in the case of an agreement that covers employees to whom no State or Federal award would otherwise apply--the agreement does not, on balance, provide a net detriment to the employees when compared with the aggregate package of conditions of employment under a State or Federal award that covers employees performing similar work to that performed by the employees covered by the agreement, and

(c) the parties understand the effect of the agreement, and

(d) the parties did not enter the agreement under duress.

(2) This subsection applies to an enterprise agreement that applies to some but not all the employees of an employer, unless the employees to whom it applies comprise a distinct geographic, operational or organisational unit. The Commission is not to approve such an enterprise agreement if it is satisfied that--

(a) the agreement fails to cover employees who would reasonably be expected to be covered, given the nature of the work performed under the agreement and the organisational and operational relationships between the employees covered by the agreement and the remainder of the employees, and

(b) it is unfair not to cover the employees excluded from the agreement.

(3) The Commission is to follow the principles for approval set under section 33 when deciding whether to approve an enterprise agreement, unless satisfied that any departure from those principles would not prejudice the interests of any of the parties to the agreement.