APS bargaining is coming back, it's time to get involved

APS Bargaining is coming back and CPSU members are preparing to campaign for continued improvements to your pay and conditions. Click here to learn more about the CPSU APS bargaining campaign, or see below for the latest campaign updates. 

Negotiation

The CPSU is calling on the Government to start negotiations

CPSU members are ready to bargain for improvements to APS pay and conditions, but the Government is keeping us waiting. To avoid delays, we're calling on the Government to start negotiations immediately. If you want your next pay rise delivered on time, sign our petition.

CPSU members and delegates have spent years preparing for this negotiation and are ready to hit the ground running when the next round of APS bargaining finally kicks off. Here’s a snapshot of where things are at:

Our bargaining claim

The ambitious CPSU bargaining claim (sign-in required) was developed through extensive member surveys, feedback sessions, and hundreds of workplace and online meetings. More than 18,000 members voted overwhelmingly in support of the claim, and in April we formally requested that Government begin negotiations. The Government’s response so far … crickets.

Your preparation

More than 830 CPSU workplace delegates have undertaken bargaining training. This means that as bargaining progresses, members will have a direct connection to what’s happening at the negotiation table and what’s happening in your workplace

Your bargaining team

Pictured (left to right): Sam Roehr (Australian Taxation Office), Emma White (Services Australia), Paul Wray (National Disability Insurance Agency), Jo Kerr (National Indigenous Australians Agency), Sarah Dinsmore (Dept of Education), Kelly Miller (Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry), Evan Walton (Dept of Defence), Ric Selim (Home Affairs, not pictured).

The CPSU has assembled a team of experienced APS negotiators to form our bargaining team. This team is supported by legal and industrial experts, and backed by the collective bargaining power of tens of thousands of CPSU members.

Right now CPSU agency-level bargaining teams are undergoing training. Their role is to negotiate any agency-specific issues and ensure service-wide improvements are implemented effectively within agencies.

The time to start is now – sign the petition

If we want to avoid delays, negotiations need to start now. We are asking that all APS workers sign the CPSU petition calling for an immediate start to bargaining.

Claim development

Claim endorsement voting is now closed

Voting closed on 31 March 2026, with almost 18,000 members having voted to endorse the CPSU’s service wide bargaining claim! CPSU members can view the endorsed claim here (sign-in required).

The CPSU claim is based on what you, and thousands of other members, told us you want to achieve in bargaining. More than 96% of members who voted said yes to endorse the bargaining claim.

Your claim is now endorsed and will form a strong starting position for negotiations between CPSU members and the APSC in service wide bargaining.

Members have told us they don’t want delays, and we are ready to start negotiations immediately. We are calling on the government and APSC to quickly commence formal bargaining to avoid delays to delivering improvements to your pay and conditions.

About the CPSU Commonwealth Bargaining Claim

Built by members, for members. The CPSU bargaining claim includes all of the things we want to see improved in the next enterprise agreement. It’s built on member feedback from over 10,000 bargaining survey responses and thousands of workplace meetings. Over 800 CPSU delegates are undertaking APS bargaining training to ensure your workplace issues are heard.

What CPSU members are calling for

Only members get a say

If you want to see the claim and provide your feedback, it's time to become a CPSU member.

Bargaining priorities

During this step in APS bargaining CPSU members were surveyed on their priorities for pay and conditions. These priorities helped to form the CPSU bargaining claim.

The survey covered both APS-wide and agency-specific priorities. This means that CPSU members influence the conditions that impact all APS workers, as well as those that only affect workers at their own agency.

Only CPSU members were able to complete the bargaining survey. Members were also invited to attend workplace meetings to discuss their bargaining priorities in detail, and will continue to receive updates and resources throughout the bargaining process.

Want to have your say in bargaining? Become a CPSU member

If you aren’t a union member you don’t get a say during bargaining. Your concerns, ideas, and preferences won’t be considered. You will only get to vote 'Yes' or 'No' to the offer at the end of the process.

Becoming a CPSU member lets you shape your pay and conditions, as well as strengthen the CPSU position at the negotiating table. The more members we have working together in bargaining, the more we can achieve.

Huge response to the CPSU APS bargaining survey

There was a massive response to our recent survey about the next round of APS bargaining, with an unprecedented 10,338 union members taking part. Read more about it here.

CPSU members get to have a say at every step of bargaining. If you missed out on this chance, make sure you look out for a bargaining meeting in your workplace, or talk to your local workplace CPSU Delegate.

The APS bargaining campaign

CPSU membership means backing yourself and your colleagues to get the best possible result in bargaining. CPSU members get access to exclusive bargaining briefings and resources, as well as opportunities to directly influence bargaining outcomes. 

CPSU members have been briefed on what we can expect this time around in bargaining, how we can get the best result, and have taken part in an in-depth member-only survey that will form the basis of our bargaining claim.

In the previous round of APS-wide bargaining CPSU members made history - winning massive improvements including groundbreaking flexible work rights, 18 weeks paid parental leave for both parents, dramatically lifting the pay rates of the lowest paid agencies, consultation rights, 25% casual loading, new leave types and more. This round of bargaining is our chance to build on these outcomes. Remember, only CPSU members will be shaping the important decisions about how we proceed.

Becoming a CPSU member gives you more control of your pay and conditions, and it strengthens the union position at the negotiating table. The more members we have working together in bargaining, the more we can achieve. The best way to ensure you are consulted when it comes to bargaining for your pay and conditions is to join the CPSU today.

CPSU members get to have a say at every step of bargaining. Fill out the form below and we will get in touch about becoming a member.