Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. I now turn to item 636A of the bill, which basically states, at the end of section 250, that the Fair Work Commission may make a single-interest employer authorisation that does not specify particular employees if the Fair Work Commission is satisfied that:

(a) the employers are bargaining in good faith for a proposed enterprise agreement that will cover the employers and the relevant employees, or substantially the same group of the relevant employees; and

(b) the employers and the relevant employees have a history of effectively bargaining in relation to one or more enterprise agreements that have covered the employers and the relevant employees, or substantially the same group of the relevant employees; and

(c) on the day that the FWC will make the authorisation, less than 6 months—

in this case, it's six months—

have passed since the most recent nominal expiry date of an agreement—

that is, an agreement for which the parties have effectively bargained. Can the minister confirm what is meant by 'history of effectively bargaining'? I have been asked by multiple employers what the guidance is that's being given by the government in this regard?