Multi-Employer Bargaining in 2026: Critical Insights for Councils and Libraries

Description

Event Details

HR Legal has long-standing relationships with Victorian local government, statutory authority and public sector clients, including councils and library services. This experience has provided our team with a strong understanding of the industrial, operational and workforce challenges unique to the sector.

With unions – particularly the ASU – intensifying efforts to expand multi-employer bargaining across Victorian councils, the bargaining landscape in 2026 is set to be more complex and strategically significant than ever. Following the finalisation of the first local government Multi-Employer Agreement (‘MEA’) between Ararat and Central Goldfields Councils, the ASU is now actively encouraging workers at 12 additional regional Victorian councils with EBAs expiring in 2026 to ‘rope-in’, by promising immediate access to new conditions while retaining any existing superior entitlements.

For local government, statutory authority and public sector employers with enterprise agreements expiring in 2026 and beyond, it is critical to understand how this renewed union focus on MEAs may affect bargaining dynamics and organisational strategy – including the potential for employees to be swept into a MEA without traditional negotiation processes.

Join us for this FREE information session, where we will explore key enterprise bargaining considerations for the local government and library sector, including what to expect from upcoming bargaining rounds, emerging union strategies, and practical steps employers can take to plan effectively.

Key topics will include:

• Enterprise bargaining in the local government and library sector – current trends and challenges
• The ASU’s renewed push for multi-employer bargaining and ‘rope in’ campaigns across regional councils
• Multi-enterprise bargaining: when it applies, how it works, and what it means for councils and libraries
• Strategic planning for upcoming EA negotiations
• Union rights and obligations during bargaining
• Practical risk management and lessons from recent bargaining activity

Who should attend

This information session is ideal for Victorian local government, authority and public sector employers, including library services, particularly those with enterprise agreements expiring in 2026 or 2027, including:

• Executive and Senior Management
• People & Culture / HR Teams
• Risk/ Governance

This session will be presented by Managing Partner of HR Legal, Dan Feldman.

Event Details:

Delivery:	Hybrid – Online and in-Person
Date:	Friday, 20 March 2026
Time:	12:00pm to 1:00pm (AEST)
Cost:	FREE

Our seminars, webinars and workshops are for the benefit of clients and prospective clients and others working in organisations who are seeking learning and development opportunities in employment law and workplace safety. HR Legal reserves the right to cancel the registration of any person.