In February of this year, nine out of ten Agreement approval applications will be subject to “triage” model. Practically, this means that the applications will be sorted into groups or categories to streamline the approval process.
This anticipated change was born from an independent review in May 2015 that found the triage process fostered greater consistency in the approval process, relieved Members’ administrative burdens and reduced approval timeframes.
In the latter part of this year, the Tribunal trialled this approach with 60% of the approval applications for Agreements received. This trial process continued across a range of states, and a range of industries including the building, metal and civil construction, electrical contracting, plumbing, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and storage services industries.
This will be implemented in a two stage process, with more industries being slowly added. Relevant to NRA members are fast food, hospitality, restaurants and retail industry Awards. The Tribunal has indicated that members will be allocated according to their particular experience and their expertise in dealing with those applications.
If your business would like more information on Enterprise Agreements and the approval process call our specialist advisors at the National Retail Assocation on 1800 RETAIL (738 245).