The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has provided a reply to the supplementary submission of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) dated 6 December 2024 in these proceedings (Third ACTU Submission).

Our reply responds to the ACTU's submission that the decision of the Federal Court of Appeal in Energy Australia Yallourn Pty Ltd v Automotive, Food, Metal, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union [2018] FCAFC 146; 264 FCR 342 (Energy Australia) "suggests that the requirement in s 186(6) that employees organisations [sic] must be able to access the dispute term in their own right, is not confined to employee organisations covered by an enterprise agreement."

The BCA submits that this interpretation of the Energy Australia decision ought to be rejected. The matter rises and falls on the wording of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) and the text of the Energy Australia decision.

Read our full submission here.

Read our first Submission here and reply submission here.