Single interest employer authorisations

A single interest employer agreement is a type of multi-enterprise agreement that covers 2 or more employers that are part of a franchise or share common interests. 

To bargain for a single interest employer agreement, you must first apply to us for a single interest employer authorisation. 

Once an authorisation is made, the employers and employees specified in the authorisation are subject to certain rules in relation to the making of an agreement that would not otherwise apply. 

Learn more about how we have powers to assist parties during bargaining to reach an enterprise agreement that meets their needs.

You can apply for a single interest employer authorisation in relation to a proposed enterprise agreement that will cover 2 or more employers if you are:

• those employers, or
• a bargaining representative of an employee who will be covered by the proposed agreement.

We must make a single interest employer authorisation if an application for the authorisation has been made and we are satisfied that:

• at least some of the employees that will be covered by the proposed agreement are represented by a union
• the employers are certain franchisees or common interest employers, as they:
  • carry on similar business activities under the same franchise and are either franchisees or related bodies corporate of the same franchisor (or a combination of these), or
  • have clearly identifiable common interests with the other employers, it is not contrary to the public interest to make the authorisation, and the employers’ operations and business activities are reasonably comparable
• the employers and the employee bargaining representatives have had the opportunity to express their views (if any) on the authorisation to us, and
• the additional requirements specified below are met (as applicable).

Matters that may be relevant for determining common interests include:

• geographical location
• regulatory regime
• the nature of the enterprises (size and scope) to which the agreement will relate, and the terms and conditions of employment in those enterprises.

If an employee bargaining representative (such as a union) applies for an authorisation and the employer that will be covered by the agreement employs 50 or more employees at the time the application is made, it is presumed that:

• the employer has clearly identifiable common interests with the other employers and making the authorisation would not be against the public interest, and
• the employer’s operations and business activities are reasonably comparable with those of the other employers that will be covered by the agreement,

unless otherwise proved. 

Tip: In calculating the number of employees, all employees of the employer and of the employer’s associated entities are to be counted. This includes regular casual employees but not other casual employees.  

If 2 or more employers make the application, we must also be satisfied that:

• the employers that will be covered by the proposed agreement have agreed to bargain together, and
• no one coerced or threatened to coerce any of the employers into bargaining together.

If an employee bargaining representative such as a union makes the application, we must also be satisfied that each employer either has consented to the authorisation, or meets the following conditions:

• the employer has at least 20 employees at the time the application was made — employers with less than 20 employees cannot be included in a single interest employer authorisation unless they agree
• the employer has not already made an application for a single interest employer authorisation (for the same employees) that is yet to be decided by us
• the employer is not named in an existing single interest employer authorisation or supported bargaining authorisation in relation to the same group of employees
• a majority of the employer’s employees (employed at a time determined by us) to be covered by the agreement want to bargain for the agreement – we may assess this using any method we consider appropriate.
• the employer and the employees that will be covered by the agreement are not covered by a current enterprise agreement at the time we will make the authorisation, and the employer and a union representing their employees to be covered by the agreement have not already agreed in writing to bargain for a proposed single enterprise agreement to cover the same (or substantially the same) employees.

We cannot make a single interest employer authorisation if the proposed single interest employer agreement would cover employees in relation to general building and construction work.

If we are only satisfied that some of the employers to be covered by the agreement are certain franchisees or common interest employers as described above, we may make a single interest employer authorisation naming only those employers and their employees.

We may also exclude employer(s) named in an application from a single interest employer authorisation if:

• the employers are bargaining in good faith for a proposed enterprise agreement that will cover the same (or substantially the same) employees
• the employers and relevant employees have a history of effectively bargaining in relation to one or more enterprise agreements that have covered the same (or substantially the same) employees, and
• on the day we will make the authorisation, less than 9 months have passed since the most recent nominal expiry date of such an agreement. 

A single interest employer authorisation comes into operation the day it is made and ceases to operate on the earlier of the following:

• when the single interest employer agreement is made, or
• after 12 months. We may extend this period, on application, if we are satisfied that there are reasonable prospects that the agreement will be made if the authorisation continues to operate, and it is appropriate in all the circumstances to extend the authorisation.

An employer included in a single interest authorisation can only make a single interest employer agreement with the employees specified in the authorisation. They cannot bargain for any other kind of agreement with those employees or vary an existing agreement to include those employees.

A single interest employer authorisation can be varied in some circumstances to add or remove employers and their employees.

To apply for a single interest employer authorisation, please use our Form F83. 
The requirements that the Fair Work Commission must consider are listed in section 249 of Fair Work Act 2009.