Fair Work Act 2009

The FWC must make a single interest employer authorisation in relation to a proposed enterprise agreement if:

an application for the authorisation has been made; and

the FWC is satisfied that:

at least some of the employees that will be covered by the agreement are represented by an employee organisation; and

the employers and the bargaining representatives of the employees of those employers have had the opportunity to express to the FWC their views (if any) on the authorisation; and

if the application was made by 2 or more employers under paragraph 248(1)(a)—the requirements of subsection (1A) are met; and

if the application was made by a bargaining representative under paragraph 248(1)(b)—each employer either has consented to the application or is covered by subsection (1B); and

the requirements of either subsection (2) or (3) (which deal with franchisees and common interest employers) are met; and

if the requirements of subsection (3) are met—the operations and business activities of each of those employers are reasonably comparable with those of the other employers that will be covered by the agreement.

If:

the application for the authorisation was made by a bargaining representative under paragraph 248(1)(b); and

an employer that will be covered by the agreement employed 50 employees or more at the time that the application was made;

The requirements of this subsection are met if:

the employers that will be covered by the agreement have agreed to bargain together; and

no person coerced, or threatened to coerce, any of the employers to agree to bargain together.

An employer is covered by this subsection if:

the employer employed at least 20 employees at the time that the application for the authorisation was made; and

the employer has not made an application for a single interest employer authorisation that has not yet been decided in relation to the employees that will be covered by the agreement; and

the employer is not named in a single interest employer authorisation or supported bargaining authorisation in relation to the employees that will be covered by the agreement; and

a majority of the employees who are employed by the employer at a time determined by the FWC and who will be covered by the agreement want to bargain for the agreement; and

subsection (1D) does not apply to the employer.

For the purposes of paragraph (1B)(d), the FWC may work out whether a majority of employees want to bargain using any method the FWC considers appropriate.

This subsection applies to an employer if:

the employer and the employees of the employer that will be covered by the agreement are covered by an enterprise agreement that has not passed its nominal expiry date at the time that the FWC will make the authorisation; or

the employer and an employee organisation that is entitled to represent the industrial interests of one or more of the employees of the employer that will be covered by the agreement have agreed in writing to bargain for a proposed single‑enterprise agreement that would cover the employer and those employees or substantially the same group of those employees.

The requirements of this subsection are met if the employers 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.

The requirements of this subsection are met if:

the employers have clearly identifiable common interests; and

it is not contrary to the public interest to make the authorisation.

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a), matters that may be relevant to determining whether the employers have a common interest include the following:

geographical location;

regulatory regime;

the nature of the enterprises to which the agreement will relate, and the terms and conditions of employment in those enterprises.

If:

the application for the authorisation was made by a bargaining representative under paragraph 248(1)(b); and

an employer that will be covered by the agreement employed 50 employees or more at the time that the application was made;

For the purposes of calculating the number of employees referred to in paragraph (1AA)(b), (1B)(a) or (3AB)(b):

employee has its ordinary meaning; and

subject to paragraph (c), all employees employed by the employer at the time that the application for the authorisation was made are to be counted; and

a casual employee is not to be counted unless, at that time, the employee is a regular casual employee of the employer; and

associated entities of the employer are taken to be one entity.

The authorisation:

comes into operation on the day on which it is made; and

ceases to be in operation at the earlier of the following:

at the same time as the enterprise agreement to which the authorisation relates is made;

12 months after the day on which the authorisation is made or, if the period is extended under section 252, at the end of that period.