Certain employers can apply to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations for a declaration allowing them to bargain together to make a single enterprise agreement (under section 247 of the Fair Work Act 2009). Having a declaration will enable the employers to apply to Fair Work Australia for a single interest employer authorisation.
Note: franchisees do not require a declaration in order to apply for a single interest authorisation.
Who can apply?
The limited types of employers that may be covered by a declaration include (but are not confined to) employers who:
- have a common source of funding
- operate collaboratively
- are governed by a common regulatory system
- have previous experience of bargaining together.
Examples of the types of employers that may be considered include:
- public hospitals with a high degree of coordination and common employment arrangements
- schools that share common employment and funding arrangements
- school councils or parents and friends associations that join together to employ staff to work with a single public school system.
How does the Minister decide?
To decide whether to make the declaration the Minister takes into account the following matters:
- the employers’ history of bargaining, including if they have bargained together in the past
- the common interests of the employers, and their relevance to bargaining together • if the employers operate within a common regulatory system
- the degree to which the employers work
- collaboratively or in competition
- if the employers are largely government funded
- if it may be more appropriate for the employers to make separate enterprise agreements
- any other matter the Minister considers relevant.
How to apply
Download and complete the application form.
Application for Ministerial Declaration under s.247 (doc 38.5KB) 
Send your application to:
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Application requirements
Your application must:
- name the two or more employers making the application
- name all employers who’ll be covered by the proposed enterprise agreement
- set out the grounds for the application, addressing the matters listed above
- be signed and dated
- provide contact details for each applicant.