Application by Timbrebongie House Limited
Citation: [2026] FWCA 1693
At a glance
- Awards cited
- MA000173
What happened
Timbrebongie House Limited, a company in the aged care industry, applied to have an enterprise agreement approved. The agreement, negotiated with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) and Health Services Union (HSU), contained an error. A classification for 'Gardening Apprentice' was being paid below the rate specified in the Aged Care Award 2010. Timbrebongie House identified this as a mistake.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission approved the enterprise agreement with a correction. The commission found an obvious error existed regarding the pay rate for a 'Gardening Apprentice'. They ordered that the percentage paid to apprentices who completed year 12 be changed from 50% to 55% of Level 4 aged care employee wage. The agreement will operate from July 8, 2026, and expire on June 30, 2029.
What it means for employers
Employers should carefully review enterprise agreements for accuracy before submitting them for approval. Even minor errors can delay the approval process and require costly corrections. Thorough checks of classifications and pay rates are essential to ensure compliance with relevant awards.
What it means for employees
Employees covered by enterprise agreements should be aware of their entitlements and regularly check that these are being applied correctly. If discrepancies arise, they should raise them with their employer or union representatives.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2026fwca1693.pdfWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. Full-corpus advisor access is a paid product — Business Solo from $99/mo, 50% off your first 3 months for the first 100 signups.
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
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 →