2025 WAIRC 00104
INDUSTRIAL MAGISTRATES COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA


CITATION
:
2025 WAIRC 00104



CORAM
:
INDUSTRIAL MAGISTRATE R. COSENTINO



HEARD
:
WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2025



DELIVERED
:
FRIDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2025



FILE NO.
:
M 68 OF 2024



BETWEEN
:
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION


CLAIMANT





AND





CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD


RESPONDENT

CatchWords : INDUSTRIAL LAW – claimed contravention of Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – construction of industrial instrument – Chevron Wheatstone Downstream Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023 – travel meal allowance – meaning of words ‘when required to be accommodated overnight’ – allowance payable only while accommodation required – no contravention – claim dismissed
Legislation : Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
Instrument : Chevron Wheatstone Downstream Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023
Case(s) referred
to in reasons: : WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131; (2018) 264 FCR 536
James Cook University v Ridd [2020] FCAFC 123; (2020) 278 FCR 566
Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Corporation v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia [2025] FCA 39
Result : Claim dismissed
Representation:
Claimant : Mr K. Sneddon (of counsel)
Respondent : Mr N Ellery (of counsel) as instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills
REASONS FOR DECISION
1 Early in the morning of 13 December 2023 Mark Adams, who was employed by the respondent, Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, finished the last shift in his 14-day roster at the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant. He then started his journey from site to Onslow on the Pilbara coast of Western Australia to Perth and then to his home outside Brisbane in Queensland. For this journey, he needed to stay overnight in Perth. He landed in Brisbane the following day, 14 December 2023, at 2.30 pm.
2 Mr Adams claimed payment of a $49.35 meal allowance for lunch on 14 December 2023. Chevron did not pay this claimed amount.
3 Mr Adams’ union, the Australian Workers Union (AWU), commenced these proceedings seeking payment of the meal allowance, pre-judgment interest and a penalty for contraventions of ss 50 and 323(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). It says Chevron’s non-payment is a contravention of cl 16.3(d)(1)(C) of the Chevron Wheatstone Downstream Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023 which makes provision for payment of a meal allowance when an employee is required to be accommodated overnight, except where a suitable meal is provided (meal allowance clause).
4 Chevron says the meal allowance clause does not require payment of an allowance for lunch on 14 December 2023 because Mr Adams was not required to be accommodated on that day.
5 The issue between the parties is the true meaning of the meal allowance clause. The true meaning determines whether or not Chevron was required to make payment of the meal allowance for lunch to Mr Adams.
6 To determine this issue, the parties helpfully provided the Industrial Magistrates Court (IMC) with a Statement of Agreed Facts.
7 It is agreed that:
a. The Agreement was approved by the Fair Work Commission on 22 November 2023.
b. The Agreement applies to and covers the AWU and the AWU has standing to enforce the Agreement.
c. The Agreement covered Mr Adams and was in operation on 14 December 2023.
d. Mr Adams had a point of engagement outside of Western Australia for the purpose of the Agreement’s cl 16.3.
e. Mr Adams’ estimated total annual remuneration was $284,800 (excluding superannuation), which included:
i. a base salary per annum of $192,800 (exclusive of superannuation) pursuant to cl 12.1(a) of the Agreement;
ii. a Field Loading Allowance of $85,000 per annum payable in equal monthly instalments pursuant to cl 16.1(a) of the Agreement; and
iii. a Transport Allowance of $7,000 per annum in equal monthly instalments pursuant to cl 16.3(a) of the Agreement.
f. On the evening of 12 December 2023 Mr Adams commenced the last shift of his 14 days on duty. The shift was a night shift which ended in the morning of 13 December 2023.
g. After conclusion of the shift, Mr Adams was transported by bus to Onslow Airport. He then flew from Onslow Airport at 8.30 am (AWST) and landed in Perth at 10.30 am (AWST). Chevron organised and paid the cost of the flight to Perth.
h. On 13 December 2023, Mr Adams checked into Crown Metropol in Perth for a single night’s stay. Chevron was required to pay for the accommodation pursuant to the Agreement.
i. On 14 December 2023, Mr Adams checked out some time before 8.00 am (AWST) and then took a flight from Perth Domestic Airport to Brisbane Domestic Airport, which was scheduled to depart at 8.00 am (AWST) and arrive at 12.30 pm (AWST) (i.e.: 2.30 pm (AEST)). Chevron organised and paid the cost of the flight to Brisbane.
j. Travel time from Brisbane Airport to Mr Adams’ home by car is approximately one hour.
k. Mr Adams arrived home at approximately 2.00 pm (AWST) (i.e.: 4.00 pm (AEST)).
8 No other evidence was relied upon. Neither party relied on extrinsic evidence for the purpose of construing the Agreement. No one sought to rely on the clause’s history, or antecedent instruments from which the meal allowance clause may have been derived, nor past practices in relation to antecedent instruments, as relevant contextual matters.
Meal Allowance Clause
9 Clause 16.3(d)(C) says:
Employees whose contract of employment specifies a Point of Engagement outside Western Australia:
(1) will be provided with the following in addition to the Transport Allowance when they are required to travel to the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant, an alternative Remote Work Location or to Perth for training:
…
(C) Per diem allowance for meals for the relevant time of the day when required to be accommodated overnight of:
(1) $34.95 for breakfast;
(2) $49.35 for lunch; and
(3) $69.20 for dinner,
save that where a suitable meal is provided, the relevant allowance will not be payable. For clarity, a meal provided on a flight is not considered a suitable meal for the purposes of this clause; …
Construction of industrial agreements
10 The principles that apply when construing an industrial instrument are not in dispute. They are encapsulated at [197] of WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131; (2018) 264 FCR 536:
The starting point for interpretation of an enterprise agreement is the ordinary meaning of the words, read as a whole and in context: City of Wanneroo v Holmes; (1989) 30 IR 362 at 378 (French J). The interpretation “... turns on the language of the particular agreement, understood in the light of its industrial context and purpose ...”: Amcor Limited v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union; (2005) 222 CLR 241 at [2] (Gleeson CJ and McHugh J). The words are not to be interpreted in a vacuum divorced from industrial realities (Holmes at 378); rather, industrial agreements are made for various industries in the light of the customs and working conditions of each, and they are frequently couched in terms intelligible to the parties but without the careful attention to form and draftsmanship that one expects to find in an Act of Parliament (Holmes at 378–9, citing Geo A Bond & Co Ltd (in liq) v McKenzie [1929] AR(NSW) 498 at 503 (Street J)). To similar effect, it has been said that the framers of such documents were likely of a “practical bent of mind” and may well have been more concerned with expressing an intention in a way likely to be understood in the relevant industry rather than with legal niceties and jargon, so that a purposive approach to interpretation is appropriate and a narrow or pedantic approach is misplaced: see Kucks v CSR Limited; (1996) 66 IR 182 at 184 (Madgwick J); Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association v Woolworths SA Pty Ltd [2011] FCAFC 67 at [16] (Marshall, Tracey and Flick JJ); Amcor at [96] (Kirby J).
11 Chevron also referred me to the Federal Court of Australia Full Court decision in James Cook University v Ridd [2020] FCAFC 123; (2020) 278 FCR 566 at [65] where Griffiths and Derrington JJ expressed the relevant principles as follows (citations omitted):
(i) The starting point is the ordinary meaning of the words, read as a whole and in context.
(ii) A purposive approach is preferred to a narrow or pedantic approach — the framers of such documents were likely to be of a “practical bent of mind”. The interpretation “turns upon the language of the particular agreement, understood in the light of its industrial context and purpose.”
(iii) Context is not confined to the words of the instrument surrounding the expression to be construed. It may extend to “... the entire document of which it is a part, or to other documents with which there is an association”.
(iv) Context may include “... ideas that gave rise to an expression in a document from which it has been taken”.
(v) Recourse may be had to the history of a particular clause “Where the circumstances allow the court to conclude that a clause in an award is the product of a history, out of which it grew to be adopted in its present form...”.
(vi) A generous construction is preferred over a strictly literal approach, but “Awards, whether made by consent or otherwise, should make sense according to the basic conventions of the English language. They bind the parties on pain of pecuniary penalties”.
(vii) Words are not to be interpreted in a vacuum divorced from industrial realities but in the light of the customs and working conditions of the particular industry.
12 This statement of the principles was referred to with approval by Lee J in Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Corporation v Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia [2025] FCA 39 at [28].
The parties’ submissions
13 The AWU’s case is that the travel meal allowance clause is only qualified by the requirement that an employee be accommodated overnight, and is not otherwise limited.
14 The AWU submits that employees whose contract of employment specifies a point of engagement outside of Western Australia become eligible for certain entitlements that are not available to those who are engaged within the State. This is recognition by the parties to the Agreement that employees living interstate have different needs in getting to and from work compared with those living intrastate.
15 The AWU identify three interrelated purposes of cl 16.3(d):
a. to ensure that employees based outside Western Australia are not disadvantaged in travel to and from work compared with their intrastate counterparts;
b. to ensure that interstatebased employees can have a meal during their journey if they are required to be accommodated overnight; and
c. to ensure interstate employees do not bear incidental costs of travel, in recognition of the fact that interstate journeys have different overheads and stressors.
16 The AWU point out that elsewhere in the Agreement, where a restriction on the application of an entitlement is intended, this is clearly set out. It says cl 16.3 does not explicitly or implicitly say that the meal allowance is only payable on the day the journey commences or the night requiring accommodation. Once accommodation is required, the only other relevant condition for eligibility is that that the travel is being undertaken. That is, the entitlement continues for as long as the employee has not yet reached their point of engagement.
17 The AWU submits that its interpretation is consistent with the ordinary meaning of the words in the Agreement as they would commonly be understood as well as being industrially sensible. It also relies on the principle that a generous construction of the Agreement (that is, generous to the employee) should be preferred to a narrow or pedantic approach.
18 Chevron emphasises the role that the word ‘when’ plays in cl 16.3(1)(d). It says that this word must be given meaning and effect, and to do so, it must be understood as imposing a temporal connection between the event (the requirement for accommodation) and the entitlement to the allowance.
19 So, on Chevron’s case, the word ‘when’ requires that the accommodation that triggers the entitlement be required when, or at the point in time at which, the meal is taken. If accommodation is no longer required at the point in time when the meal is taken, then the condition for the entitlement does not exist. There is no entitlement when accommodation is not required, or once the requirement for accommodation has passed.
20 Chevron says that the AWU’s construction would make the word ‘when’ redundant. Chevron also says that if the parties intended the clause to operate in the way that the AWU proposes, then they would have used different words, such as ‘if required to be accommodated overnight’ or ‘once accommodation is required’ or ‘for the duration of the journey until the employee reaches [destination]’.
21 Chevron submits that the fact that employees receive substantial remuneration packages, separately receive a field allowance and transport allowance, and the employer bears the primary travel costs (airfares and accommodation) is relevant context. It says this context favours an interpretation that additional allowances or payments of relatively small, incidental amounts were not intended to be payable, unless very directly and expressly provided for by the terms of the Agreement.
22 Chevron referred specifically to Mr Adams’ total remuneration package as a relevant consideration. I do not regard Mr Adams’ remuneration to be relevant to the construction exercise. I accept, however, that the remuneration structure under the Agreement as it applies to employees generally is relevant context.
What does ‘when required to be accommodated overnight’ in the meal allowance clause mean?
23 I have had regard to the entire Agreement to discern the relevant context of the meal allowance clause, and its purpose.
24 The Agreement is primarily for work performed at a single remote location. The Agreement’s scope clause says that it covers:
Rotational and Residential Employees of the Company employed to work on the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant in a classification covered by this Agreement (Employee) while:
(1) on the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant; or
(2) on short term work to an alternative Remote Work Location for a period not exceeding twelve (12) weeks. Chevron Wheatstone Downstream Operations Enterprise Agreement 2023 cl 3(b).

25 Employees ‘employed on an employment contract with a Perth based position or position of Coordinator and above’ are excluded from the Agreement’s scope. Agreement cl 3(c), cl 17.2.

26 The ‘Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant’ is described in cl 2 as:
The onshore LNG and domestic gas facility located in the Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Area, 12 kilometres west of Onslow on the Pilbara coast of Western Australia.
27 ‘Residential Employee’ is defined in cl 2 as:
An Employee who is employed by the Company who is engaged to work on a residential basis at the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant and resides in Onslow, Western Australia.
28 ‘Rotational Employee’ is defined in cl 2 as:
An Employee who is employed by the Company who is engaged to work on a residential basis at the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant and resides in Onslow, Western Australia
29 Clause 9 is headed ‘Point of Engagement’. It requires that a point of engagement be specified in each employee’s contract of employment or appointment letter. The point of engagement is determinative of some entitlements. Agreement cl 16.3(d), cl 16.3(f), cl 19.1(d).

30 Roster cycles depend on whether an employee is a Residential Employee or not. Residential Employees have a four days on, three days off cycle. Agreement cl 10.2(b)(2).
Other employees work a tenweek roster of 14 days on duty, 14 days off duty, 14 days on duty and four weeks off. Agreement cl 10.2(b)(1).
On each shift, a Rotational Employee works a 12-hour shift, which may be worked as day, night or a combination of day and night shifts. Agreement cl 10.3.

31 Annual base salaries are set in accordance with an employee’s level and position title. Salaries range from $115,700 to $219,000 per annum, increasing annually by WPI or 2.5% but capped at 5%. Agreement cl 12.1(a); cl 12.1(d).
The base salary is inclusive of all overtime, penalty rates and loadings, annual leave and annual leave loading, and any other award benefits which would otherwise apply such as industry allowances, call out penalties and travel time. Agreement cl 12.1(d).

32 Clause 16 is headed ‘Allowances’. It contains three types of allowances: a ‘Field Loading Allowance’ for the location and nature of operations, Agreement cl 16.1 and cl 16.2.
transport allowances Agreement cl 16.3.
and higher duties allowance. Agreement cl 16.4.

33 The Field Loading Allowance is $85,000 per annum, paid in equal monthly instalments for Rotational Employees, or $64,000 per annum paid in equal monthly instalments for Residential Employees. In the case of Rotational Employees, the Field Loading Allowance is expressed as being:
[to recognise] and is in payment for all current and future aspects of work performed under this Agreement at Remote Work Locations. This includes (but is not limited to) the location and nature of the operations, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement travel to and from the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant and Remote Work Locations including any delays, accommodation conditions, all hardships and disabilities of the work, mobilisation and demobilisation impacts and relevant safety controls. (emphasis added)
34 The Residential Field Loading Allowance is expressed as being for the same purposes, but excluding the travel components emphasised in the previous excerpt.
35 Clause 16.3 is headed ‘Transport Allowance’. Its nine sub-clauses contain ten conditional entitlements, with sub-clause (c) setting out expenses that are employees’ responsibility. It is worth reproducing the clause in full:
(a) A taxable Transport Allowance of $7,000 per annum will be paid to Rotational Employees in equal monthly instalments.
(b) The Company will pay for Employee flights and any accommodation that may be required on the journey from the Point of Assembly to the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant or alternative Remote Work Location and return.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement:
(1) Employees are responsible for paying for any other costs that are associated with transport to and from their place of residence to their Point of Assembly, attendance at training or attendance at an alternative work location, that exceed the Transport Allowance;
(2) all travel to and from the relevant Employee's place of residence to their work area on the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant, alternative Remote Work Location, training location or Perth office will be in an Employee's own time, will not constitute time worked, and will not be paid; and
(3) the Company will not provide or reimburse Employees for any incidental travel expenses including taxis, ride-share, airport transfers, parking, mileage, trolley hire, excess baggage, lounge fees, refreshments, or meals.
(d) Employees whose contract of employment specifies a Point of Engagement outside Western Australia:
(1) will be provided with the following in addition to the Transport Allowance when they are required to travel to the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant, an alternative Remote Work Location or to Perth for training:
(A) Round trip flights – best available and economical fare of the day in accordance with the Company's policies;
(B) Accommodation up to a maximum of two (2) overnight stays in Perth per trip. One (1) overnight stay per round trip may be taken at the Employee's approved Point of Engagement in lieu of Perth accommodation. Where an Employee is required to remain in Perth for training or other work beyond two (2) nights, accommodation will be provided for each full day of training or other work. Where possible, the accommodation provided will have laundry facilities available;
(C) Per diem allowance for meals for the relevant time of the day when required to be accommodated overnight of:
(1) $34.95 for breakfast;
(2) $49.35 for lunch; and
(3) $69.20 for dinner,
save that where a suitable meal is provided, the relevant allowance will not be payable. For clarity, a meal provided on a flight is not considered a suitable meal for the purposes of this clause; and
(D) A total of two (2) taxi fares per trip whilst in Perth. Where an Employee is required to remain in Perth for training, Employees will be provided with taxi fares to and from the training venue for the duration of the training.
(e) If as a result of a plane delay that can be attributed to the Company, an Employee misses their connecting flight and cannot travel to their place of residence until the next day, provided with:
(A) Overnight accommodation; and
(B) Per diem allowance for meals for the relevant time of the day when required to be accommodated overnight of:
(1) $34.95 for breakfast;
(2) $49.35 for lunch; and
(3) $69.20 for dinner,
save that where a suitable meal is provided, the relevant allowance will not be payable. For clarity, a meal provided on a flight is not considered a suitable meal for the purposes of this clause.
(f) Employees who are required to travel interstate for training from their Point of Engagement will be provided flights, accommodation and the per diem allowance specified in clause 16.3(d)(1)(C).
(g) An Employee who has a place of residence more than 80 km from the Point of Assembly, and is required to travel to:
(1) the Wheatstone Downstream LNG Plant or alternative Remote Work Location or days worked off asset and where it is identified as an appropriate fatigue management control; or
(2) to attend Perth for training,
will be provided with accommodation in addition to the Transport Allowance, as well as the per diem allowance specified in clause 16.3(d)(1)(C). Where possible, the accommodation provided will have laundry facilities available.
(h) Subject to clause 16.3(i), Employees who attend training during their off duty period will receive the following in addition to any other entitlements in this Agreement:
(1) Employees who live within a six (6) hour drive of Perth, Western Australia will be provided with a kilometre allowance of $0.83 cents per kilometre travelled in their own car between their place of residence and the training venue plus parking expenses, up to a maximum of $230 each way (with parking reimbursed subject to provision of receipts or invoices), and the per diem allowance specified in clause 16.3(d)(1)(C); and
(2) Employees who reside outside of a six (6) hour drive of Perth, Western Australia will be provided with return flights, accommodation, taxi fares and the per diem allowance specified in clause 16.3(d)(1)(C).
(i) Clause 16.3(h) does not apply in circumstances where an Employee is required to attend training before the commencement of a normal work cycle (where at the conclusion of the training the Employee would be immediately mobilised) or where they attend training commencing on the day immediately following completion of their normal cycle. This clause does not exclude the operation of clause 16.3(f).
(emphasis added)
36 Clause 16 refers in several places to ‘Point of Assembly’. This is defined in the Agreement as Perth Airport. Agreement cl 2.

37 The provisions of the Agreement I have set out above indicate a scheme with the following features:
38 First, the Agreement deals comprehensively with terms and conditions related to the remote location of work and travelling to and from that location. The work location and getting to and from the location is a recurring and central theme of the terms and conditions the Agreement contains.
39 Second, the Field Loading Allowance is a significant component of employees’ remuneration, and the Field Loading Allowance for Rotational Employees is significantly more than that for Residential Employees. It is clear, because it is expressed in cl 16.1, that the Field Loading Allowance for Rotational Employees is intended to compensate, in part, for the time and impacts associated with travelling to and from site, that is, mobilisation and demobilisation impacts.
40 Third, cl 16.3(c) applies to all employees without any distinction based on point of engagement. Sub-clause (1) requires employees to meet their own costs associated with transport to and from their residence to the Point of Assembly ‘that exceed the Transport Allowance.’ This reinforces that the cl 16.3(a) Transport Allowance is intended to compensate all employees for costs associated with transport to and from their residence to Perth Airport. This is reiterated by cl 16.3(c)(3) which confirms that Chevron is not obliged to reimburse incidental travel expenses, such as meals.
41 Fourth, a meal allowance is not exclusively payable to employees whose point of engagement is outside Western Australia. It is also payable to:
a. any employee whose flight is delayed requiring accommodation overnight; Agreement cl 16.3(e).

b. any employee who travels interstate for training; Agreement cl 16.3(f).

c. any employee whose residence is more than 80 km from the Point of Assembly; Agreement cl 16.3(g).
and
d. any employee who attends training in their off-duty period. Agreement cl 16.3(h).

42 So, it is not strictly correct to say that the Agreement makes a distinction between employees living interstate and those living intrastate when it comes to meal allowance entitlements, or that the meal allowance hinges on having a point of engagement outside of Western Australia. Rather, the meal allowance is paid in specific, identified circumstances. If there is anything in common across those specific circumstances, it might be said that they are circumstances where the travel is of an unusually long duration or at an unusual time. By ‘unusual’, I mean that it is not the standard travel the Transport Allowance compensates for.
43 Fifth, cl 16.3(d) is expressed as being ‘in addition to’ the cl 16.3(a) Transport Allowance of $7,000 per annum. While the allowances in cl 16.3(d) are separate allowances, their purpose is either the same as, or closely connected to, the Transport Allowance.
44 These five contextual features reveal that the Agreement broadly creates a scheme for employees’ travel to and from site whereby:
a. Chevron meets the significant costs of airfares and accommodation;
b. Employees meet their own incidental travel expenses;
c. The Field Loading Allowance is paid to recognise non-economic mobilisation and demobilisation impacts for Rotational Employees;
d. The Travel Allowance is paid to employees to defray their incidental travel expenses; and
e. The Travel Allowance is supplemented by additional allowances in particular circumstances, including when the travel involves a requirement for overnight accommodation.
45 It can also be said that the supplementary or additional allowances in cl 16.3 are for the purpose of ensuring that employees who are required to undertake unusual travel are not disadvantaged compared to those who undertake standard travel. However, this purpose does not require that the AWU’s construction be adopted.
46 Chevron’s proposed construction more closely aligns with the purpose of ensuring that employees who are required to undertake unusual travel are not worse off than those who undertake standard travel. While Chevron’s construction is not the one that is most generous to employees, it is not a construction which is strictly literal or pedantic either. It effectively confers a benefit in the form of a meal allowance to supplement the Transport Allowance. It is consistent with the parties having chosen the form of words they did, including the temporal connection between the entitlement to the allowance, and the requirement for accommodation incorporated by use of the conjunction ‘when’.
47 The AWU’s construction would mean that interstate employees are at an advantage compared to their intrastate co-workers, because they would be entitled to a meal allowance for the duration of their travel to and from their point of engagement, where an intrastate employee is not entitled to a meal allowance during any part of their travel. An employee who is undertaking standard travel for five to ten hours intrastate will be out of pocket for one or two meals. An employee who is travelling interstate will be out of pocket for none, if accommodation is required as part of the travel. The AWU advanced no reason why this would be the purpose of the meal allowance clause, or why such an outcome makes sense industrially.
48 I do not agree with the AWU’s submission that the purpose of cl 16.3(d) is to ensure employees who are engaged from interstate do not bear costs incidental to travel. This is not supported by the context as set out above.
49 The AWU’s proposed construction conditions the entitlement on the requirement for overnight accommodation, but connects the entitlement to the journey’s duration. This involves an unnatural strain on the language used in the meal allowance clause. The AWU did not articulate what purpose would be served, or why the parties would have intended there be an additional allowance connected to the duration of a journey, merely because it involved overnight accommodation.
50 Although it is probably of minor significance, I note that cl 16.3(d)(1)(B) contemplates that accommodation may be up to a maximum of two overnight stays, or more when in Perth for more than two nights for training. This would explain why the travel meal allowance clause is expressed as a ‘[p]er diem allowance for meals for the relevant time of the day’. Agreement cl 16.3(d)(1)(C).
A meal allowance may be payable for more than a single day.
Conclusion and disposition
51 The AWU’s interpretation of the meal allowance clause is incorrect. The clause does not entitle an employee to payment of a meal allowance at any time during the duration of a journey requiring overnight accommodation. The requirement for overnight accommodation is not the only pre-requisite for payment. Rather, an employee is entitled to the meal allowance only when the relevant time of the day (breakfast, lunch or dinner) is a time when overnight accommodation is required.
52 As at lunchtime on 14 December 2024, Mr Adams did not require overnight accommodation as part of his journey to his point of engagement. Accordingly, he was not entitled to the meal allowance at that time, and Chevron did not contravene cl 16.3(1)(d)(C) of the Agreement by not paying his claim.
53 I dismiss the claim.



R. COSENTINO
INDUSTRIAL MAGISTRATE