Employers may make single and multi-enterprise agreements for their business. To understand which agreement applies to you, see Agreements on the Fair Work Ombudsman website .
Single enterprise agreements
Most agreements are single enterprise agreements.
An employer may make a single enterprise agreement with its employees. An agreement covers employees when they:
- are employees at the time the agreement is made
- start work for the employer after the agreement is made.
Find out how to:
About related employers
In some cases, 2 or more employers may make a single enterprise agreement. They must be related employers, which means they are one of the following:
- a joint venture or common enterprise
- related body corporate entities
- employers that carry on similar business activities under the same franchise and are franchisees of the same franchisor and/or related bodies corporate of the same franchisor.
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Understanding enterprise agreements
Watch this short video to learn about enterprise agreements, how they are made, and our role in approving them.
Download our written summary Understanding enterprise agreements .
Multi-enterprise agreements
Two or more employers may make a multi-enterprise agreement. The agreement is only with the people who are:
- employees at the time the agreement is made AND
- employees who will be covered by the agreement.
Employers must follow the process to make a multi-enterprise agreement.
Representatives for a multi-enterprise agreement may apply for a supported bargaining authorisation. This is a special set of rules that help low-paid employees take part in bargaining.
Where employers have clearly identifiable common interests, representatives can apply for a single-interest employer authorisation.
Unless we have issued a supported bargaining authorisation or a single-interest employer authorisation, multi-enterprise agreements are co-operative workplace agreements.
Transitioning from a multi-enterprise agreement to a single enterprise agreement
From 27 February 2024, an employer may transition from a supported bargaining agreement or a single interest employer agreement that has not yet passed its nominal expiry date, to a single enterprise agreement.
Before requesting employees to vote on a single enterprise agreement, an employer must have:
- agreement in writing to the making of the request from all relevant employee organisations covered by the supported bargaining agreement or single interest employer agreement, or
- a voting request order.
A voting request order can be made by the Commission on application.
Find an enterprise agreement
Use the document search to find agreements.