Organise a protected action ballot

Employees must vote in a protected action ballot to take industrial action.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) holds a ballot when we ask them to.

A ballot can happen when:

• bargaining fails for a new enterprise agreement
• the existing agreement is out-of-date.

The employees’ bargaining representatives must apply to us using Form F34 first.

In the application, they should:

• describe a genuine attempt to find a solution
• say if they want a ballot agent to organise the ballot (otherwise we ask the AEC to do it).

The proposed new agreement should not be a greenfields or multi-enterprise agreement.

If we approve the application, we will make an order.

The order will include:

• the name of each applicant for the order
• the group or groups of employees who will take part
• what questions will be on the ballot
• the date the ballot closes.

If you are an employee, you can vote in a protected action ballot if:

• the proposed enterprise agreement will cover you
• the people who applied for the ballot are your bargaining representatives
• you are part of the group of employees we have put in the order.

Industrial action can go ahead if:

• at least 50% of people on the voting roll took part in the ballot
• more than 50% of the votes favour the industrial action.

When the AEC or ballot agent declares the result:

• the industrial action must start within 30 days, unless you apply for an extension using Form F34A and we agree
• we must publish the ballot result on this site.

If the AEC holds the protected action ballot, the Australian Government pays for it.

If the applicants for the order want to use a ballot agent, they must pay the full cost. This is the case for both complete and incomplete ballots.