s.437 - Protected action

Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment

Proposed protected action ballot of employees of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment - Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service - non-AEC ballot electronic voting

[1] The United Workers' Union (UWU) has made an application under s.437 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) for a protected action ballot order (PABO) in relation to certain employees of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment of the Northern Territory (the Respondent). The employees are employees of the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service.

[2] On 4 February 2026, the Respondent advised that it objected to the application on the following bases:

1. The Respondent sought an extended notice period of 7 working days.

1. The Respondent wanted the ballot to clarify that the protected industrial action the subject of questions 1 and 2 is subject to WHS obligations and PPE requirements.

1. The Respondent wanted the ballot to clarify that the protected industrial action the subject of question 3 does not extend to non-compliance with uniform policies implemented for WHS and risk-management purposes.

1. In respect of question 4, the Respondent sought that messages on vehicles and windows be confined to non-safety critical areas and exclude messaging on vehicle windows.

1. The Respondent sought that question 5 be amended to expressly exclude any action that would impact the operational availability of vehicles or machinery for response.

1. The Respondent sought that the ballot order exclude bans on SMS entries relating to asset maintenance requests, servicing, and the completion of fire or incident reports associated with emergency responses.

1. For question 7, the Respondent raised concerns that unrestricted or unlimited bans on compliance with the Respondent limiting the use of station wellbeing and recreation facilities may compromise firefighters' physical readiness during shift and increase fatigue‑related and hydration-related risks.

1. The Respondent sought that question 8 be amended to exclude personal or targeted commentary and to clarify that employees cannot leave their station while rostered for the purpose of media engagement.

1. The Respondent sought that question 9 be amended to exclude personal or targeted commentary and require that social media posts remain confined to collective bargaining matters only.

1. The Respondent wanted 7 days' written notice in advance of scheduled community or recruitment-related events for protected industrial action arising from questions 10 and 11

1. The Respondent the ballot to expressly require that any action arising from question 12 not affect service readiness or response capability.

[3] Having regard to the Respondent's objection, on 5 February 2026 I listed the matter for hearing. However, later that day the Respondent wrote to my chambers advising that the parties have reached agreement in respect of the objections, as discussed below. In the circumstances, I have decided to determine the matter on the papers without holding a hearing.

[4] On the basis of the material before me, including the statutory declaration of Ms Erina Early, NT Secretary, UWU setting out the steps taken by the UWU in bargaining with the Respondent and confirming that the UWU has been, and is, genuinely trying to reach agreement with the Respondent, I am satisfied that there is a notification time in relation to the proposed agreement and that all of the requirements in s.443(1) of the Act have been met.

[5] I am satisfied that the UWU has given notice in accordance with s.440 of the Act.

[6] The parties reached a consent position regarding the period of written notice referred to in s.414(2)(a) of the Act being longer than three working days for all the questions within the order. The parties considered it appropriate, having regard to the nature of the industry that the Respondent operates in, for the Respondent to be provided with six working days' notice.

[7] Section 443(5) of the Act gives the Commission the discretion, where it is satisfied that there are exceptional circumstances justifying the period of written notice being longer than three days, to specify a longe period of up to seven working days' notice.

[8] In my view, specifying a period of six working days for all the questions within the order is justified by the particular exceptional circumstances in this case, particularly in respect of fire and rescue services.

[9] The protected action ballot order will specify a required period of notice of at least six working days for all questions.

[10] The remainder of the Respondent's objections were resolved by the parties agreeing to the inclusion of the following commitment at the opening of the ballot questions in the PABO:

"It is not the intention of the United Workers Union or its members to engage in industrial action which would (or would threaten to) endanger the life, personal safety or health, or the welfare of the population or a part of it. This includes conduct directed at individual employees, and any damage to Northern Territory Public Sector property."

[11] The Respondent sought a further commitment from the UWU in relation to question 4 that any messaging will not cover, obscure, or otherwise interfere with the Respondent's decals, Battenburg markings, or other safety and identification elements. The UWU advised that it was agreeable to this proposal.

[12] For the purposes of s.443(3)(c) of the Act, the Commission has determined that the date by which voting is to close in the ballot is 20 February 2026. This also establishes the ballot period for the purpose of s.448A(2) of the Act.

[13] The ballot is to be conducted by Fair Vote Services Pty Ltd (Fair Vote). Fair Vote has been approved as an eligible protected action ballot agent under s.468A of the Act and is authorised to conduct the ballot.

[14] The Order [PR796501] will be issued concurrently with this Decision.

[15] This matter will be listed for a s.448A conference. An Order and Directions will be issued shortly requiring attendance at the conference.

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer