{{Infobox court case , name=Three certified agreements case, court=

Australian Industrial Relations Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...

, image=Coat of Arms of Australia.svg , date decided=21 March 2005 , full name=Re: Rural City of Murray Bridge Nursing Employees, ANF (Aged Care) – Enterprise Agreement 2004 (18 March 2005 PR956575). , citations= PR956575, Judges= Guidice, Lawler, Ross, prior actions=', subsequent actions= none , opinions= The case determined what did and did not pertain. It concluded: *Trade union right of entry "pertains to the relationship between employer and employee". *Salary sacrifice "pertains to the relationship between employer and employee". *Setting conditions for employees of labour hire "pertains to the relationship between employer and employee". *Recognition of delegates "pertains to the relationship between employer and employee". *Payroll deductions for union dues "do not pertain to the relationship between employer and employee". * Trade union training leave "pertains to the relationship between employer and employee". The three certified agreements case was a decision of the

that resolved the confusion created by the High Court's decision of ''

Electrolux v AWU ''Electrolux v The Australian Workers' Union'' was a 2004 decision by the High Court of Australia that held that a bargaining agent fee did not pertain to the relationship between employer and employee and so could not be included in an enterpr ...

''.

Name

The three certified agreements case, or ''In Re Schefenacker'', the ''Australian Nursing Federation'' and the ''Rural City of Murray Bridge'', was a case that combined appeals from decisions of a single commissioner not to certify enterprise agreements, as it was believed that the agreements contained clauses that did not pertain to the relationship between employer and employee: * The Murray Bridge Enterprise Bargaining Agreement * The Schefenacker Vision Systems Enterprise Bargaining Agreement * The La Trobe University Enterprise Bargaining Agreement

Background

The decision was necessary to clarify the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

's decision ''Electrolux v AWU'', which caused much uncertainty existed on could be placed into

enterprise bargaining agreement Enterprise bargaining is an Australian term for a form of collective bargaining, in which wages and working conditions are negotiated at the level of the individual organisations, as distinct from sectoral collective bargaining across whole indust ...

Significance

The decision was handed down on 21 March 2005. The case got major attention around Australia. It was one of the longest-awaited decisions in industrial relations law, as industrial relations professionals had awaited clarification of ''

Electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool. Electrolux products sell under a variety ...

'' of the

for over five months. It is commonly regarded as the final landmark decision of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. (That is before its wage setting, award formation and agreement certification powers were removed from it by the

WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard Government in 2005, being amendments to the ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' by the ''Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices ...

reform in 2006.)

Decision

The case dealt with whether a large number of union-friendly provisions such as these: * union training leave * the recognition of delegates * right of entry * salary sacrifice * use of labour hire (and setting or terms of conditions for labour hire) The case decided that the matters (in certain forms) could be included into enterprise agreements (and awards would have been followed). It was generally accepted as a major

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

victory

Australian labour law 2005 in case law 2005 in Australian law