Qantas Short Haul EA Update No 27
This update, prepared by the AFAP’s experienced legal and industrial team, provides further details following yesterday’s QPC briefing.
Following a decision by Deputy President Saunders of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) last Friday, Qantas has provided an undertaking to address the non-compliance of the Dispute Settlement Procedure (DSP) with section 186(6) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act).
By providing this undertaking, the compliance issue has now been resolved, and the Deputy President has approved the Agreement. The Agreement will commence operation on and from 16 May 2025.
This undertaking (available
here) is now an enforceable term of the Agreement. It provides the AFAP with the right to refer disputes to the FWC without naming individual pilots. It is worth noting that during the hearing, AIPA ultimately agreed with the AFAP’s position that the DSP needed to include this right.
Qantas Communications and Misrepresentation
Further to the Chief Pilot characterising the DSP’s non-compliance as a “technical” issue, Qantas continues to minimise the implications of the FWC’s findings. In doing so, it has failed to acknowledge the following key facts:
The DSP as originally drafted and submitted for approval, was found by the FWC to be non-compliant with the requirements of the Act;
Had Qantas not provided the undertaking, the FWC would have refused to approve the agreement;
This would have necessitated a complete restart of the voting process, and Qantas would have been required to amend the DSP to achieve approval.
Moreover, Qantas has been aware of this issue since December, when the FWC ruled on this issue in another case. The company had ample opportunity to address the problem before the vote.
As previously noted, the AFAP formally raised the matter with Qantas on 4 February and again upon submission of the document for approval. Despite this, Qantas chose not to act until compelled by the FWC process, delaying the agreement’s approval unnecessarily.
The AFAP has written to Catherine Walsh (a copy of the letter is
here) outlining that the Company should make the pay rises on 19 May. This would recognise that the delay to agreement rests with the failure by Qantas and its lawyers to adhere to the requirements of the Act and SH pilots should not be punished for this delay. This would also provide tangible evidence that Qantas has genuinely changed, and that it will not rely on legal tactics to delay pilot pay rises.
Misrepresentation of FWC Findings on FOT Salaries
The Chief Pilot’s recent update misrepresents the FWC’s findings regarding FOT salaries by claiming that the Commission “essentially found the AFAP objection to be without merit.” A plain reading of the Deputy President’s reasoning show he expressed serious reservations and acknowledged that several arguments supported the AFAP’s position. A copy of the full decision is
here.
In a previous communication, the Chief Pilot described the AFAP’s concern as merely “that the FOT starting pay isn’t far enough above the Award minimum.” This misrepresents the situation. In fact, Qantas proposed FOT salaries that are $46,000 below the Air Pilots Award minimum – a critical concern for industry standards.
It is deeply concerning to see a senior leader of Australia’s most profitable airline seemingly proud of reducing industry standards and leaving pilots in training effectively uninsured in General Aviation. This is not an outcome that Qantas — or any professional pilot or aviation organisation — should celebrate.
During the FWC hearing, AIPA’s counsel suggested the issue could be deferred to a later s 206 application. However, the FWC rejected that submission, affirming that the BOOT (better of overall test) is a distinct requirement that must be satisfied at the time of approval, and cannot be postponed. The AFAP was right to raise the issue when it did – compliance concerns cannot simply be ignored during the approval process.
The Commission’s ruling makes it clear that the FOT salary issue was a legitimate concern and that the AFAP was justified in advocating for minimum industry standards to be upheld.
While the FWC ultimately ruled that the FOT salaries passed the BOOT (by comparing them to the lower Miscellaneous Award rather than the Air Pilots Award), this has not caused a delay to the EA’s approval. The issue that did delay approval was the DSP’s non-compliance — a fact Qantas continues to overlook or misrepresent.
The AFAP remains committed to upholding both the legal requirements of the Fair Work Act and the professional standards of our industry.
In the meantime if you have any questions regarding SH bargaining we welcome members contacting your QPC pilot representatives or the AFAP legal and industrial team of Senior Legal/ Industrial Officer Pat Larkins (
patrick@afap.org.au), Senior Industrial Officer Chris Aikens (
chris@afap.org.au), and Executive Director Simon Lutton (
simon@afap.org.au) to ensure that you are informed.
Regards,
AFAP Legal
Jared Marks – AFAP In-House Counsel
Simon Lutton – AFAP Executive Director
Patrick Larkins – AFAP Senior Legal/ Industrial Officer