What is an enterprise agreement?

An enterprise agreement is a voluntary and negotiated contract between employees (or their union representatives) and their employer. The agreement is designed and tailored specifically for their workplace and their environment. For the agreement to come into effect it must be approved by a majority of the staff to whom it will apply to.

Enterprise agreements cannot override state laws which cover OHS, workers compensation, discrimination, child labour, equal employment opportunity and training arrangements.

Enterprise agreements are regulated by the new Fair Work system which started on 1 July 2009. It’s Australia’s new national workplace relations system. The new system is created by the Fair Work Act 2009 and covers the majority of workplaces in Australia. More information about agreements can be found on the Fair Work Australia website.

Currently, most staff at the University of Sydney are covered by the University of Sydney's Enterprise Agreement 2009-2012 or an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA). More information about AWAs at the University.