Fair Work Act 2009

This Division contains additional provisions that relate to modern enterprise awards. The provisions in this Division have effect despite anything else in this Part.

A modern enterprise award is a modern award that is expressed to relate to:

a single enterprise (or a part of a single enterprise) only; or

one or more enterprises, if the employers all carry on similar business activities under the same franchise and are:

franchisees of the same franchisor; or

related bodies corporate of the same franchisor; or

any combination of the above.

A single enterprise is:

a business, project or undertaking that is carried on by an employer; or

the activities carried on by:

the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or

a body, association, office or other entity established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or

any other body in which the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory has a controlling interest.

For the purposes of subsection (3), if 2 or more employers carry on a business, project or undertaking as a joint venture or common enterprise, the employers are taken to be one employer.

For the purposes of subsection (3), if 2 or more related bodies corporate each carry on a single enterprise:

the bodies corporate are taken to be one employer; and

the single enterprises are taken to be one single enterprise.

However, a modern enterprise award could just relate to a part of that single enterprise.

A part of a single enterprise includes, for example:

a geographically distinct part of the single enterprise; or

a distinct operational or organisational unit within the single enterprise.