Enterprise Agreements

Many Australian operators negotiate and enter into enterprise agreements (previously called collective workplace agreements) with their employees. These are negotiated through bargaining agents, who will usually be organisers from one of the three Australian maritime unions.

Enterprise agreements are regulated under the Fair Work Act 2009 and contain the terms and conditions under which employees at a certain ‘enterprise’ will be employed. Enterprise agreements must be approved by Fair Work Australia before they come into force. Before Fair Work Australia will approve an enterprise agreement, it must be satisfied that the employees covered by the agreement will be “Better Off Overall” than if they were covered by the relevant modern award.