Solidarity, security, and dignity in our working lives.
Every worker in Australia can join the union for their industry – and together we do remarkable things.
From winning the world’s first 8 hour day, to winning parental leave, to banning harmful industrial chemicals in our communities and securing protections against exploitation – it’s union members who win the changes that move Australia forward.
Take the first step here: become a union member today.
Join Your Union
This will only take a few minutes! Your union is ready to welcome you to the movement winning better wages, reliable jobs and lasting change.
Support when you need it
Be sure you stay in control if things go wrong at work. As a union member you know that you’re protected with the best employment legal advice, as well as support and info on workplace rights.
Higher wages, reliable work
Union members campaign for higher wages for everyone, but union members also earn on average $251 more per week, than non-union members.
Better work and society for all
So many of the basic rights that workers and all Australians receive is due to hard-won campaigns by union members: Medicare, JobKeeper, annual leave, paid parental leave and more!
We’re winning change in Australia
For nearly fifty years, the labour-capital power balance in Australia has tilted further and further towards the bosses with casualisation, profiteering, privatisation, wage suppression, and attacks on collective bargaining. Now, for the first time in 11 years, nationwide union density in Australia increased.
We may, finally, be at a turning point – and this is just the start.
Ready to take control of your work life?
With the strength of almost 2 million members, we have a major say in shaping the future of work for all. Beyond this, union members benefit from advice, support and the tools you need to fulfil your goals – wherever you are in your working life.
Real Action
Support for your career
Higher wages
Apply to join your union
Join the almost two million workers coming together to change work and society for the better. Together we can take action to drive real change. That means better wages than non-union members, the workplace conditions you deserve and support standing by if anything goes wrong.
01.
Provide your details
We need a few details like who you are and where you work. Don't worry, everything you tell us is completely confidential.
02.
Confirm your union
There's a union for every industry and occupation. We'll confirm which union covers your workplace or industry.
03.
Enjoy benefits today
Get your first month’s membership up and running to start enjoying the benefits of belonging today.
Belonging to the union movement means everything to me.
The driving force in advancing the rights of working women in Australia is the trade union movement. From the tailoresses striking in 1880, to Zelda D’Aprano campaigning for equal pay in the 1970s, to the past ten years, where union women pushed for and won family and domestic violence leave.
The only way to counter the suits in the boardrooms of corridors of power is by standing collectively in common purpose – that is our power.
What is the cost?
Apprentices, contractors, casuals, part-timers: Australian unions are for all working people. Union dues - the membership fees you pay into the union - are specific to your circumstance. From each according to ability, to each according to need.
The investment you make in your career through union membership is also a tax-deductible work-related expense.
Unions are run by members, for members, with leadership elected by members. Unions are non-profit organisations whose members support each other through workplace issues and industrial disputes.
Being a union member means learning your rights at work and how to stand together with your coworkers to make positive change. Paid training for workplace representatives and safety representatives is a workplace right, and it makes our workplaces stronger!