Application by Hospira Australia Pty Ltd Trading AS Pfizer Melbourne
Citation: [2026] FWCA 1627
What happened
Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Pfizer Melbourne (Pfizer), applied for approval of the 'Pfizer Melbourne (Maintenance & Laboratory) AMWU/ETU Enterprise Agreement 2025'. The agreement covers employees and the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU) and Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia (ETU). A key issue was a missing flexibility term regarding Individual Flexibility Agreements (IFAs), specifically failing to guarantee employees receive written copies within 14 days. Pfizer provided an undertaking to rectify this.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission approved the enterprise agreement, subject to Pfizer's undertaking to provide IFAs to employees within 14 days. The Commissioner found that the undertaking would not cause financial detriment or substantial changes to the agreement and is now a term of the agreement. The agreement will operate from seven days after approval. The Commission also noted the National Employment Standards (NES) precedence clause, ensuring NES provisions apply where the agreement doesn't offer a more favourable outcome.
What it means for employers
Employers seeking to implement enterprise agreements must ensure they include all required flexibility terms, particularly those relating to Individual Flexibility Agreements and employee notification. If a term is missing, providing an undertaking can mitigate the issue but requires careful drafting to avoid financial detriment or substantial changes to the agreement’s scope.
What it means for employees
Employees covered by this enterprise agreement are entitled to receive written copies of their Individual Flexibility Agreements within 14 days of being made. The union representatives (AMWU and ETU) are covered by the agreement.
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This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections →