An overview of legal procedure & case law
See Fair Work Act 2009 ss.269–271
If a serious breach declaration has been made in relation to a proposed enterprise agreement, a 21 day post-declaration negotiating period commences. If at the end of that negotiating period the bargaining representatives have not settled all of the matters that were at issue, a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission must make a bargaining related workplace determination.[1]
The post-declaration negotiating period starts on the day on which the serious breach declaration is made and ends 21 days after that day (or 42 days if extended by the Commission).
A serious breach declaration is available where there are serious and sustained contraventions of a bargaining order that significantly undermine the bargaining process.[2]
The Commission must make the bargaining related workplace determination as quickly as possible after the end of the post-declaration negotiating period.
See Fair Work Act s.271(A)
If a proposed single-enterprise agreement is a greenfields agreement, and there has been a notified negotiation period for the agreement which has ended, section 269 of the Fair Work Act (which deals with bargaining related workplace determinations) does not apply in relation to the agreement at any time after the end of the notified negotiation period.