Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment

Bulletin 20 - ballot outcome - issued 22 June 2026

I remain committed to settling the terms of a new Northern Territory Public Sector Fire and Rescue Service 2025 – 2029 Enterprise Agreement.

I have today written to the United Workers Union (UWU) to give it a final opportunity to resolve this matter by agreement. In particular, I have asked the UWU to advise whether it is prepared to support the proposed agreement and encourage its members to vote in favour of it.

A further vote should only occur if there is a realistic prospect that the proposed agreement can be approved. That requires clarity about whether the UWU will support the agreement.

The current offer is the offer that was the subject of the last employee ballot. That is the final offer. There will be no further improvements or concessions.

The offer was put forward in a genuine attempt to reach agreement. It includes significant concessions made during the s 240 conferences held in May 2026, together with additional terms arising from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) process, including indexation of the Alice Springs Allowance. It is valued at approximately $4.6 million above wages policy over the life of the agreement, with an ongoing cost of more than $2 million. That is a substantial investment.

I therefore consider the current offer to be fair, responsible and generous. It maintains Northern Territory firefighters among the highest paid nationally and reflects genuine efforts to reach agreement through the FWC process.

If the UWU advises by 3 July 2026 that it will support the proposed agreement and encourage members to vote in favour of it, I will take the necessary steps to put the agreement to a further employee vote.

If the UWU does not provide that confirmation and as foreshadowed in Bulletin 16 on 28 May 2026, I will proceed with an application for an intractable bargaining declaration under s 235 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) in order to finalise these negotiations.

If an intractable bargaining declaration is made, the FWC may bring the parties together again to assist them to resolve any outstanding matters. If agreement still cannot be reached, the FWC will proceed to make an intractable bargaining workplace determination. The FWC will decide the terms and conditions of the workplace determination and will, in effect, replace the enterprise agreement that the parties have been bargaining for. In making a workplace determination, the FWC must consider matters including:

  • the merits of the case
  • the interests of the employers and employees who will be covered by the determination
  • the significance of any arrangements or benefits in an enterprise agreement that applies immediately before the determination is made
  • the public interest
  • how productivity might be improved
  • the reasonableness of the conduct of bargaining representatives during bargaining
  • the extent to which bargaining representatives have complied with good faith bargaining requirements
  • incentives to continue bargaining in the future.

It is important that employees understand what a workplace determination means. If the matter proceeds to an arbitrated workplace determination, the outcome will be determined by the FWC in accordance with the statutory framework. No party can guarantee what the final terms will be. The determination may produce terms that differ from the current offer, including terms that are less favourable to employees than the current offer.

For that reason, applying for an intractable bargaining declaration is not my preferred course. It is a last resort and likely to involve further proceedings, delay and uncertainty. Depending on the number and complexity of the issues in dispute, the process from the making of an intractable bargaining declaration to a final workplace determination may take approximately 6 to 12 months or longer.

Resolution by agreement remains the preferable course. However, if the UWU is not prepared to support the proposed agreement, I consider that the intractable bargaining process is now the necessary next step to bring these negotiations to a conclusion.

Finally, I remind all employees to uphold the NTPS Code of Conduct and professional standards while exercising their workplace rights during this period.

More information

Bargaining updates are posted on the Northern Territory Public Sector Fire and Rescue Service Enterprise Agreement. Information on bargaining in general can be obtained on the Fair Work Commission website or by calling 1300 799 675.

Feedback

To provide feedback, email enquiries.ocpe@nt.gov.au.

Nicole Hurwood
Commissioner for Public Employment
26 June 2026