Fair Work Act 2009
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 164 — Special criteria for revoking modern awards
The FWC must not make a determination revoking a modern award unless the FWC is satisfied that: (a) the award is obsolete or no longer capable of operating; or (b) all the employees covered by the…
Section 165 — When variation determinations come into operation, other than determinations setting, varying or revoking modern award minimum wages
Determinations come into operation on specified day (1) A determination under this Part that varies a modern award (other than a determination that sets, varies or revokes modern award minimum wages)…
Section 166 — When variation determinations setting, varying or revoking modern award minimum wages come into operation
Determinations generally come into operation on 1 July (1) A determination under this Part that sets, varies or revokes modern award minimum wages comes into operation: (a) on 1 July in the next…
Section 167 — Special rules relating to retrospective variations of awards
Application of this section (1) This section applies if a determination varying a modern award has a retrospective effect because it comes into operation under subsection 165(2) or 166(3) on a day…
Section 168 — Varied modern award must be published
(1) If the FWC makes a determination under this Part or Part 2-6 (which deals with minimum wages) varying a modern award, the FWC must publish the award as varied as soon as practicable. (2) The…
Section 168A — Modern enterprise awards
(1) This Division contains additional provisions that relate to modern enterprise awards. The provisions in this Division have effect despite anything else in this Part. (2) A modern enterprise award…
Section 168B — The modern enterprise awards objective
What is the modern enterprise awards objective? (1) The FWC must recognise that modern enterprise awards may provide terms and conditions tailored to reflect employment arrangements that have been…
Section 168C — Rules about making and revoking modern enterprise awards
Making modern enterprise awards (1) The FWC must not, under this Part: (a) make a modern enterprise award; or (b) make a determination varying a modern award so that it becomes a modern enterprise…
Section 168D — Rules about changing coverage of modern enterprise awards
(1) The FWC must not make a determination varying a modern enterprise award so as to extend the coverage of the modern enterprise award so that it ceases to be a modern enterprise award. (2) In…
Section 168E — State reference public sector modern awards
(1) This Division contains additional provisions that relate to State reference public sector modern awards. The provisions in this Division have effect despite anything else in this Part. (2) A…
Section 168F — The State reference public sector modern awards objective
The State reference public sector modern awards objective (1) The FWC must recognise: (a) the need to facilitate arrangements for State reference public sector employers and State reference public…
Section 168G — Making State reference public sector modern awards on application
(1) The FWC may make a State reference public sector modern award (the proposed award) only on application under section 158 by: (a) a State reference public sector employer; or (b) an organisation…
Section 168H — State reference public sector modern awards may contain State-based differences
Section 154 (which deals with terms that contain State-based differences) does not apply in relation to State reference public sector modern awards.
Section 168J — When State reference public sector modern awards come into operation
Section 49 does not apply for the purpose of determining when a State reference public sector modern award comes into operation. Instead, the modern award comes into operation on the day on which it…
Section 168K — Rules about revoking State reference public sector modern awards
(1) The FWC may make a determination revoking a State reference public sector modern award only on application under section 158 by: (a) a State reference public sector employer; or (b) an…
Section 168L — Rules about varying coverage of State reference public sector modern awards
(1) The FWC may make a determination varying the coverage of a State reference public sector modern award only on application under section 158 by: (a) a State reference public sector employer; or…
Section 169 — Guide to this Part
This Part is about enterprise agreements. An enterprise agreement is made at the enterprise level and provides terms and conditions for those national system employees to whom it applies. An…
Section 170 — Meanings of employee and employer
In this Part, employee means a national system employee, and employer means a national system employer. Note: See also Division 2 of Part 6-4A (TCF contract outworkers taken to be employees in…
Section 171 — Objects of this Part
The objects of this Part are: (a) to provide a simple, flexible and fair framework that enables collective bargaining in good faith, particularly at the enterprise level, for enterprise agreements…
Section 172 — Making an enterprise agreement
Enterprise agreements may be made about permitted matters (1) An agreement (an enterprise agreement) that is about one or more of the following matters (the permitted matters) may be made in…
Section 172A — Special measures to achieve equality
Without limiting subsection 172(1), the matters mentioned in paragraph 172(1)(a) include special measures to achieve equality. Note: A special measure to achieve equality may be a discriminatory term…
Section 173 — Notice of employee representational rights
Employers for single-enterprise agreements to notify each employee of representational rights (1) An employer that will be covered by a proposed single-enterprise agreement (other than a greenfields…
Section 174 — Content and form of notice of employee representational rights
Application of this section (1) This section applies if an employer that will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement is required to give a notice under subsection 173(1) to an employee. Notice…
Section 176 — Bargaining representatives for proposed enterprise agreements that are not greenfields agreements
Bargaining representatives (1) The following paragraphs set out the persons who are bargaining representatives for a proposed enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement: (a) an employer…
Section 177 — Bargaining representatives for proposed enterprise agreements that are greenfields agreements
The following paragraphs set out the persons who are bargaining representatives for a proposed single-enterprise agreement that is a greenfields agreement: (a) an employer that will be covered by the…
Section 177A — Restrictions on removed persons being bargaining representatives
Definition of removed persons (1) A person is a removed person if: (a) any of the following events has happened as a result of a scheme determined under subsection 323B(1) of the Registered…
Section 178 — Appointment of bargaining representatives—other matters
When appointment of a bargaining representative comes into force (1) An appointment of a bargaining representative comes into force on the day specified in the instrument of appointment. Copies of…
Section 178A — Revocation of appointment of bargaining representatives etc.
(1) The appointment of a bargaining representative for an enterprise agreement may be revoked by written instrument. (2) If a person would, apart from this subsection, be a bargaining representative…
Section 178B — Notified negotiation period for a proposed single-enterprise agreement that is a greenfields agreement
(1) If a proposed single-enterprise agreement is a greenfields agreement, an employer that is a bargaining representative for the agreement may give written notice: (a) to each employee organisation…
Section 179 — Disclosure by organisations that are bargaining representatives
(1) If: (a) an organisation is a bargaining representative for a proposed enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement; and (b) the organisation is not an employer that will be covered by…
Section 179A — Disclosure by employers
(1) If: (a) an employer will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement; and (b) as a direct or indirect consequence of the operation of one or more terms of…
Section 180 — Certain pre-approval requirements
Pre-approval requirements (1) Before an employer requests under subsection 181(1) that employees approve a proposed enterprise agreement by voting for the agreement, the employer must comply with the…
Section 180A — Agreement of bargaining representatives that are employee organisations—proposed multi-enterprise agreements
(1) This section applies to a proposed enterprise agreement that is a multi-enterprise agreement. (2) An employer must not request under subsection 181(1) that employees approve the enterprise…
Section 180B — Agreement of bargaining representatives that are employee organisations—certain proposed single-enterprise agreements
(1) This section applies to a proposed single-enterprise agreement (the new agreement) if: (a) a single interest employer agreement or a supported bargaining agreement (each of which is an old…
Section 181 — Employers may request employees to approve a proposed enterprise agreement
(1) An employer that will be covered by a proposed enterprise agreement may request the employees employed at the time who will be covered by the agreement to approve the agreement by voting for it.…
Section 182 — When an enterprise agreement is made
Single-enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement (1) If the employees of the employer, or each employer, that will be covered by a proposed single-enterprise agreement that is not a…
Section 183 — Entitlement of an employee organisation to have an enterprise agreement cover it
(1) After an enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement is made, an employee organisation that was a bargaining representative for the proposed enterprise agreement concerned may give…
Section 184 — Multi-enterprise agreement to be varied if not all employees approve the agreement
Application of this section (1) This section applies if: (a) a multi-enterprise agreement is made; and (b) the agreement was not approved by the employees of all of the employers that made a request…
Section 185 — Bargaining representative must apply for the FWC’s approval of an enterprise agreement
Application for approval (1) If an enterprise agreement is made, a bargaining representative for the agreement must apply to the FWC for approval of the agreement. (1A) Despite subsection (1), if the…
Section 185A — Material that must accompany an application under subsection 182(4) for approval of a greenfields agreement
An application under subsection 182(4) for approval of an agreement must be accompanied by: (a) a copy of the agreement; and (b) any declarations that are required by the procedural rules to…
Section 186 — When the FWC must approve an enterprise agreement—general requirements
Basic rule (1) If an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement is made under subsection 182(4) or section 185, the FWC must approve the agreement under this section if the requirements…
Section 187 — When the FWC must approve an enterprise agreement—additional requirements
Additional requirements (1) This section sets out additional requirements that must be met before the FWC approves an enterprise agreement under section 186. Requirement that approval not be…
Section 188 — Determining whether an enterprise agreement has been genuinely agreed to by employees
Statement of principles (1) The FWC must take into account the statement of principles made under section 188B in determining whether it is satisfied that an enterprise agreement has been genuinely…
Section 188A — Disclosure documents
Failure by an organisation to comply with section 179 (disclosure by organisations), or by an employer to comply with section 179A or subsection 180(4A), (4B) or (4C) (disclosure by employers), in…
Section 188B — Statement of principles on genuine agreement
(1) The FWC must, by legislative instrument, make a statement of principles for employers on ensuring that employees have genuinely agreed to an enterprise agreement. (2) The FWC must publish the…
Section 189 — FWC may approve an enterprise agreement that does not pass better off overall test—public interest test
Application of this section (1) This section applies if: (a) the FWC is not required to approve an enterprise agreement under section 186; and (b) the only reason for this is that the FWC is not…
Section 190 — FWC may approve an enterprise agreement with undertakings
Application of this section (1) This section applies if: (a) an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement has been made under subsection 182(4) or section 185; and (b) the FWC has a…
Section 191 — Effect of undertakings
(1) If: (a) the FWC approves an enterprise agreement after accepting an undertaking under subsection 190(3) in relation to the agreement; and (b) the agreement covers a single employer; the…
Section 191A — FWC may approve an enterprise agreement with amendments
(1) This section applies if: (a) an application for the approval of an enterprise agreement has been made under subsection 182(4) or section 185; and (b) the FWC has a concern that the agreement does…
Section 191B — Effect of amendment specified by FWC
(1) If: (a) the FWC specifies an amendment in approving an enterprise agreement under subsection 191A(2); and (b) the agreement covers a single employer; the agreement is taken to be amended by the…