Macquarie U management and union used the Fair Work Commission’s New Approaches bargaining process for the new academic enterprise agreement and the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union is calling it a success. Understandably so, in that the agreement was negotiated and adopted in under a year – which is fast going by university EB standards.

The FWC model starts with management and staff reps setting out issues and objectives and looking for solutions, rather than beginning with demands and escalating arguments from there. The union reports FWC deputy president Anna Booth “assisted with negotiations.” She also approved the university’s application for the agreement to be adopted, in the Commission.