s173-174: ss 173 and 174 Give a notice of employee representational rights within 14 days of the notification time
An employer that will be covered by a proposed single-enterprise agreement (other than a greenfields agreement) takes all reasonable steps to give every employee who will be covered and is employed at the notification time (the employer agreeing to or initiating bargaining, receiving a valid written request to bargain for a replacement agreement, or a majority support determination, scope order, supported bargaining or single interest employer authorisation taking effect) a notice of the right to be represented by a bargaining representative, as soon as practicable and no later than 14 days after that time. The notice contains only the prescribed content in the prescribed form.
Our statement of the clause of Australia Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), held and verified: cite it as s173-174. The instrument verbatim is not quoted here; the held framework carries the reading.
The evidence this duty asks you to hold
Copy of the NERR in the prescribed form with no added content; Distribution records showing the date each employee received it, within 14 days; Record of the notification time (bargaining start date)
What usually goes missing
NERR altered from the prescribed form (invalidating the process); NERR issued more than 14 days after bargaining started; Employees on leave not sent the notice
Where this lands in an audit
In Equal Pay Auditor this control informs the same-work screen, the category figures and the remediation steps, which carry their article citations on the result.