Enterprise agreement vote notice and timeline

Check your enterprise agreement vote timeline against the Fair Work Act and the Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement, then draft the notice telling employees when, where and how to vote.

Figures checked 5 November 2026. Free to use, no sign-in.

Agreement

Changes what the explanation must compare the agreement with.

Notices

When you agreed to or started bargaining (s 173(2)).

Treated as the date you ask employees to vote.

The vote

Only where a union bargaining representative for a significant proportion of the employees agreed to it.

Notice of enterprise agreement vote

Notice of rights due by
Enter dates
Earliest vote request
Enter dates
Copy and vote notice by
Enter dates
Apply to the Commission by
Enter dates

Timeline check

  • Notice of representational rightsNeeds dates

    Enter the notification time and the date the last notice was given.

  • 21 days after the last noticeNeeds dates

    Enter the date the last notice was given and the date you will ask employees to vote.

  • Copy of the agreementNeeds dates

    Enter the date and the date voting starts.

  • Time, place and methodNeeds dates

    Enter the date and the date voting starts.

Check before you use it

  • This notice is for a single-enterprise agreement that is not a greenfields agreement. Multi-enterprise agreements need each union bargaining representative’s written agreement (or a voting request order) before you ask for a vote (s 180A).
  • Explain the terms and their effect before you ask for the vote, in a way that suits your employees: for example, translated material, plain-English summaries, or sessions for people on different rosters (s 180(5)–(6)). Do not misstate any significant term.
  • If any term of the agreement gives you or an associated entity a financial benefit outside the ordinary course of business, prepare the s 179A disclosure document and give it to employees a reasonable time before voting starts (s 180(4B)).
  • After the vote, a bargaining representative must apply to the Fair Work Commission within 14 days (s 185(3)), with a signed copy of the agreement and the declarations the Commission requires.
  • Keep records: when each notice and copy was given, the explanation material and attendance, and the ballot result.

[Employer name]

Notice of vote: [Name of the proposed agreement]

[Employer name] asks the employees who will be covered by the proposed [Name of the proposed agreement] to vote on whether to approve it. The agreement is proposed to cover [describe the employees the agreement will cover]. If you are one of those employees, you can vote.

The vote

Voting opens[date voting opens]
Voting closes[date voting closes]
How to voteBy secret electronic ballot
Where and when[e.g. lunch room, 6 am to 6 pm each day; or the voting link sent to your work and personal email]

The vote is secret. It is set up so that [Employer name] cannot see how any individual employee voted.

The agreement

A full copy of the proposed agreement, and of any document it refers to that forms part of it, has been available to you since [date the copy was given]. You can read it, [where the copy is: e.g. attached, on the intranet and in the lunch room], until voting closes.

[Describe how the terms and their effect are being explained: e.g. a written summary of the changes, and information sessions on 3 and 4 March at 7 am and 2 pm] The explanation sets out how the proposed agreement differs from the current agreement, and from any award terms that have changed since the current agreement was made.

What happens next

The agreement is made if a majority of the employees who cast a valid vote approve it. It then has to be approved by the Fair Work Commission before it applies, and the Commission must be satisfied it was genuinely agreed to and that employees are better off overall than under the award.

If you have questions, speak to [contact name and role] or your bargaining representative. You can also contact the Fair Work Ombudsman or the Fair Work Commission.

[Employer name]

[date of this notice]

Highlighted text in [brackets] still needs your input. General information, not legal advice.

How this works

Enter your bargaining dates and the tool works out four deadlines for a single-enterprise agreement:

  • The notice of employee representational rights: within 14 days of the notification time (s 173(3)).
  • The earliest day you can ask employees to vote: 21 days after the last notice (s 181(2)).
  • The copy of the agreement and the vote details: at least 7 full calendar days before voting starts (Statement of Principles, paragraphs 5, 6 and 16).
  • The application to the Fair Work Commission: within 14 days after the agreement is made (s 185(3)).

Anything that misses a deadline is flagged. The vote notice is drafted from your details. It does not cover greenfields or multi-enterprise agreements. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Legal basis

Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Tell us.

Questions

How long after the notice of representational rights can we hold the vote?

You can’t ask employees to vote until at least 21 days after the day you gave the last notice of employee representational rights (s 181(2) of the Fair Work Act). If the last notice went out on 1 May, the earliest request is 22 May. The Fair Work Commission can’t approve the agreement if this rule was broken, unless the error was minor and nobody was disadvantaged.

Is there still a 7-day access period?

Not in the Act for bargaining that started on or after 6 June 2023. The Fair Work Commission’s Statement of Principles on Genuine Agreement says employees should get a full copy of the agreement, and be told the time, place and method of the vote, at least 7 full calendar days before voting starts, unless a shorter reasonable period is agreed with a union bargaining representative. For a vote starting on 9 May, that means by 1 May.

What do we have to explain to employees?

The terms of the agreement and their effect, in a way that suits your employees, before you ask them to vote (s 180(5)). At a minimum, explain how the agreement changes their current entitlements: compared with the current agreement (and award changes since) if it replaces one, or compared with the award if it doesn’t.

When must the agreement be lodged?

A bargaining representative must apply to the Fair Work Commission for approval within 14 days after the agreement is made, which is when a majority of the employees who cast a valid vote approve it (s 182(1) and s 185(3)). The Commission can allow more time if it considers that fair.

Does this draft the notice of employee representational rights?

No. That notice must use the exact wording in Schedule 2.1 of the Fair Work Regulations, with nothing added or removed (s 174(1A)). Use the Fair Work Commission’s template for it. This tool checks its timing and drafts the separate notice telling employees about the vote.

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