TAFE & Adult Provision Why TAFE members need to vote ‘yes’ to new agreement
With an in-principle agreement in place, every TAFE teacher covered by this agreement needs to vote on the deal.
For the agreement to be submitted for approval with the Fair Work Commission (FWC), a majority of teachers at each TAFE institute need to vote ‘yes’.
This is critical, as the agreement can only apply if a majority at each TAFE supports it. It is not based on the overall result from all TAFEs combined. If teachers at a single TAFE institute do not support the proposed agreement, then it cannot be approved by the FWC, and the government’s offer will lapse.
That would mean no pay increases or improvements to working conditions, and negotiations with management at that TAFE would need to start again.
Once the proposed agreement is supported through the employee vote, each TAFE applies to FWC for the agreement to be approved.
The new deal will commence one week following FWC approval – likely to be no earlier than May or June 2025. Look out for updates via our regular AEU emails.
