Department of Health

Enterprise agreements

The Victorian public health sector employs more than 80,000 full-time equivalent staff. These include doctors, nurses and midwives, medical scientists, allied health, mental health nurses, technicians, administrative and clerical staff, engineers, catering staff, cleaners, gardeners and a range of other workers in over one hundred sites around the state.

The terms and conditions of employment of the employees of Victorian public health services are typically established by way of collective enterprise bargaining.

While each Victorian public health service is an employer in its own right, for many employee groups (for example nurses and midwives or medical scientists) enterprise bargaining negotiations are conducted on a statewide basis. The enterprise agreements negotiated in the state-wide bargaining cover multiple employer health services and are known as single interest employer agreements.

Employers in the bargaining are represented by the tthe Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association and employees are represented by relevant union(s). The Department of Health provides oversight of the bargaining.

Enterprise bargaining in the Victorian public sector is conducted within the federal industrial relations jurisdiction and in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Victorian Government Public Sector Industrial Relations Policies and Wages Policy and Enterprise Bargaining Framework.

About enterprise bargaining

'Enterprise agreements' (or enterprise bargaining agreements) are agreements made at an enterprise level between employers and employees about terms and conditions of employment.

Reviewed 30 January 2026

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Contact details

Health Industrial Relations Branch, GPO Box 4541 Melbourne VIC 3001

Health Enterprise Agreements

50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone +61 3 9096 2539
industrialrelations.branch@dhhs.vic.gov.au
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