Unions and employer associations must have rules that comply with the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (RO Act). To make it easier for registered organisations to change their rules, the Registered Organisations Governance and Compliance External Review recommended that we produce Model Rules.
We have now published Appendix B to the two rule books we released in March 2025 as part of the Model Rules project. Appendix B contains model rules on the conduct of elections in registered organisations.
There are separate model rule books for:
- organisations with branches (federated organisations), and
- organisations without branches (unitary organisations).
Appendix B of the rule books was drafted in partnership with the Australian Electoral Commission following intensive consultation and collaboration with a range of stakeholders.
The Model Rules aim to:
- comply with the RO Act and the case law
- recognise practical requirements
- be user friendly with a logical structure, detailed notes and plain language, and
- embed good governance into organisational practices.
This marks the completion of the Model Rules project started in March 2024.
The General Manager specifically wishes to thank our stakeholders for their time spent providing their insights and feedback. The Model Rules are a living document. In the coming months, we will be seeking feedback to find out whether the Model Rules were helpful to organisations that submit rule changes, with a view to making further improvements over time.