Application by Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union (052V)
Citation: [2026] FWC 2395
What happened
The Applicant applied for a protected action ballot order under section 437 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The application related to employees of the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union (AMWU). The AMWU did not object to the application. The Applicant stated it had been genuinely trying to reach an agreement with the AMWU during bargaining.
What was decided
The Fair Work Commission granted the protected action ballot order. TrueVote Pty Ltd will conduct the ballot, which must close by 10 July 2026. This date was determined for compliance with section 443(3)(c) of the Act and establishes the ballot period under section 448A(2). A compulsory conciliation conference is scheduled to facilitate negotiations regarding a proposed enterprise agreement.
What it means for employers
Employers should ensure they engage in genuine bargaining processes when negotiating enterprise agreements. Failure to do so could lead to unions seeking protected action ballots, potentially disrupting operations and increasing costs.
What it means for employees
Employees may have the opportunity to vote on a proposed enterprise agreement through a protected action ballot. This allows them to express their views on key terms and conditions of employment.
Want this applied to your situation?
Reading the decision is free. FairWork Mate goes further — it reads the full case library and applies precedents like this one to your specific facts, citing the cases as it reasons. General information, not a guaranteed outcome or legal advice.
Every statement above is drawn from the published decision. Read the original here:
https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/pdf/2026fwc2395.pdfWant more cases like this?
FairWork Mate tracks Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions across Australia. The AI advisor answers plain-English questions grounded on the full corpus — awards cited, industry, penalty amounts and affected employee counts — with a citation to the underlying decision on every answer.
Individual case summaries on this site are free. The full FWC and Federal Court library behind every advisor answer is on Pro.
FairWork Mate AI
This is one decision. Pro reads all of them.
Free case pages cite the top 250 decisions. Pro opens the full Fair Work Commission and Federal Court library, cross-references your own situation against it, and cites the decision behind every answer — plus document upload, so it can read your letter or contract line by line. 150 questions a month, cancel anytime.
Just need this week sorted? A 7-Day Pass is 50 questions over 7 days, no account. Get a 7-Day Pass — $14.99
Get notified on new Fair Work cases
Free email alerts when we publish new underpayment decisions, penalty orders, and workplace law updates.
Free forever. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections