Services
Full end-to-end enterprise agreement services — from opening strategy through to Fair Work Commission approval. We've managed complex EA negotiations across Australia's most demanding industries.
Our EA Capability
Enterprise agreements are one of the most significant industrial instruments your organisation can put in place. Done well, they provide workforce certainty, operational flexibility, and a competitive advantage. Done poorly, they create years of cost, conflict, and constraint.
SHR Consultants has extensive experience managing enterprise agreement processes across construction, mining, marine, manufacturing and other complex industries — with a track record of delivering practical, commercially sound outcomes.
Mark Hudston currently manages multiple enterprise agreement negotiations simultaneously, bringing deep knowledge of award structures, union bargaining dynamics, Fair Work Commission requirements, and workforce consultation obligations.
Discuss Your EAOur Role
SHR Consultants' role in each enterprise agreement project is tailored to your specific requirements. We can serve as:
What We Deliver
General oversight and strategic advice to management on the bargaining process — including positioning, risk assessment, and opening strategy before a single negotiation begins.
Comparative analysis of industry agreements, wage and salary rates, and cost modelling. Detailed industry-specific economic reports to support confident decision-making at the table.
Representation in, advice during, or facilitation of face-to-face negotiations — including good faith bargaining with union representatives where applicable. On-call advice throughout the process.
Drafting the enterprise agreement, meeting notes, amendments, and responses to bargaining representative requests — ensuring the document is watertight and operationally workable from day one.
Facilitation of the employee agreement approval process including compliant consultation, workforce communication, and confidential voting management through our external voting provider.
Preparation and completion of all required Fair Work Commission documentation, filing, and advocacy with the Commission to secure approval — through to final registration.
The Process
Award analysis, cost modelling, benchmarking, and positioning. Define your objectives, risk appetite, and bargaining parameters before formal negotiations begin.
Good faith bargaining with employee representatives and unions. We manage the table — representing your interests, maintaining momentum, and responding to claims with precision.
Drafting the agreement and supporting documents, managing amendments, and securing final sign-off from all bargaining representatives.
Compliant workforce consultation, production of access period materials, and managed confidential voting through an accredited voting provider.
Preparation of all Commission documentation, filing, and representation before the Fair Work Commission to secure timely approval of the agreement.
We manage confidential employee voting through an accredited external voting provider — ensuring your approval process is compliant, defensible, and free from internal conflict of interest.
Proper voting management protects the agreement from challenge at the Commission and gives your workforce confidence in the outcome.
We also provide training in the enterprise bargaining negotiation process — building your internal team's capability to participate confidently, understand their obligations, and negotiate effectively.
Enquire About TrainingWhat We See
Walking into negotiations without a clear position, cost model, or risk framework. Strategy must be set before the first bargaining meeting.
Unions invest heavily in preparing for bargaining. Employers who don't match that preparation are at a structural disadvantage from day one.
Failing to plan for protected industrial action leaves businesses exposed. Risk planning and contingency measures must be in place before they're needed.
Trading away operational flexibility provisions to resolve early friction creates long-term operational constraints that outlast the negotiation itself.
FWC approval is not the end — implementation, communication, and management training are critical to getting the value from the agreement in practice.
Common Questions
Most enterprise agreement negotiations take between three and twelve months, depending on the complexity of the enterprise, the number of bargaining representatives, and the degree of union involvement. Early preparation and a clear strategy significantly reduce the timeline.
Only if employees have a union as a bargaining representative. Employees can appoint a union, another person, or represent themselves. If your workforce includes union members, you are likely to have union bargaining representatives and must bargain in good faith with them.
The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) requires that each employee covered by the agreement must be better off overall under the EA compared to the relevant modern award. The Fair Work Commission applies this test before approving any enterprise agreement. We ensure all agreements pass the BOOT before lodgement.
Yes. Shifting your workforce from award coverage to an enterprise agreement is one of the most common EA scenarios we manage. It requires careful analysis of the relevant award, cost modelling, and a strategy that ensures employees are better off overall while meeting your operational objectives.
Before an EA can be approved by the FWC, employees must vote to approve it. We manage this through an accredited external voting provider — ensuring the process is independent, compliant with Fair Work Act requirements, and free from any suggestion of employer influence. This protects the agreement and gives your workforce confidence in the outcome.