New South Wales Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1996 - SECT 31

31 Parties to an enterprise agreement

(1) An enterprise agreement may be made between:

(a) the employer or employers of the employees for whom it is made, and

(b) one or more industrial organisations representing any of those employees.

An industrial organisation may represent only employees who are, or are eligible to be, members of the organisation.

(2) An enterprise agreement may also be made between:

(a) the employer or employers of the employees for whom it is made, and

(b) the employees at the time the agreement is made.

Note: Section 36 (4) provides that the agreement must be approved by at least 65% of the employees at a secret ballot. Section 36 (5A) provides that an industrial organisation can become a party to the agreement.

(3) A State peak council or an industrial organisation of employers may sign an enterprise agreement on behalf of industrial organisations or of employers and may apply for approval for the agreement. In that case, the industrial organisations or employers on whose behalf the agreement is signed are taken to be parties to the agreement and not the State peak council or the industrial organisation of employers.

(4) An industrial organisation of employers may so sign an enterprise agreement on behalf of any employers (whether or not named in the agreement) who may in future employ persons in the project, venture or other industry for which the agreement is made.

(5) In the case of an enterprise agreement made under subsection (2), the group of employees from time to time covered by the agreement is taken to be one of the parties to the agreement for the purposes of this Part.