Kill the Bill. Restore your rights.
The Victorian Labor Government is attempting to shut down independent unions which refuse to fund their political campaigns. Just months out from an election, they are stripping workers of their right to freely associate.
Last updated: 24 August 2026
This Bill is already under national scrutiny
Media, commentators and parliamentarians are examining what this legislation actually does. Every item below links to the original source.
Spectator Australia Article
Ben Carroll's union power play - analysis of the politics behind the Bill.
Australian Financial Review Article
Carroll accused of factional favours over "red union" bill.
Topher Field Interview
What this Bill means for freedom of association and who it impacts.
Spectator Australia Follow Up
Labor refuses to consult Jewish community on divisive bill
Epoch Times Article
Victorian Government Defends Red Union Crackdown as Anti-Hate Measure
Mirage News Article
Foreman urges halt on Labor's Association Bill - coverage of the call to pause the legislation.
Update from the halls of Parliament
Turning Point interview on where the numbers stand in the Legislative Council.
Our Statement: Victoria's Move to Shut Down Free Associations
Victorian Government's Move to Shut Down Red Union
AJA Joint Statement: On the Bill
Prominent Jewish body Opposes Victorian Government's Divisive Legislation
What you need to know
Without consulting frontline workers or the wider community, the Victorian Government is moving the Associations Incorporation Reform Amendment Bill 2026 through Parliament.
- It was introduced on 11 August 2026 and was originally set to be rushed through with a single day's notice.
- It would restrict the right of workers to organise and to form or join alternatives to unions affiliated with the Labor Party.
- Section 6 of the Amending Act lets the Government choose who is exempt, by regulations that have not yet been published. There is no level playing field on the face of the Bill.
- It conflates two unrelated issues and, on our reading, penalises thousands of workers for nothing more than their choice of union.
Above all, this is a question of freedom of association. Which union represents you should be your decision, not a decision made for you by the government of the day.
Read the Bill in fullWhere it stands right now
The Bill was going to be pushed through with a day's notice. Because members, MPs and the public pushed back, debate has been deferred - and Opposition and crossbench members of the Legislative Council are increasingly willing to fight it. A government defeat on its own Bill is now a real possibility.
What happens next
Debate resumes on 26 August
The Bill returns to Parliament. Every member of the Legislative Council will have to decide whether to back it.
The crossbench decides
With the Opposition opposed and crossbench MLCs increasingly engaged, the numbers in the upper house are genuinely in play.
Your MP hears from you before the vote
Messages from constituents in the days before a division are what shifts votes. That is why acting now matters more than acting next month.
Regulations would follow
MLC’s vote: Members of the Legislative Council may have the final say on whether workers can freely associate, which is why contacting them before the vote is so crucial.
Four things you can do today
Start with the first one. It takes about two minutes.
Email your MP now
Use the campaign tool to write to your local MP and the Legislative Council. Pre-written, and editable in your own words.
Send this page to your colleagues
One link with everything on it. Share it in your workplace, your group chats and your professional networks.
Read the Bill for yourself
Do not take anyone's word for it, including ours. The full text is on the Victorian legislation site.
Join a Red Union association
The strongest answer to a Bill about who may represent workers is more workers choosing who represents them.
Your questions answered
Red Union associations are member-run alternatives to Labor Party-aligned registered unions. They generally charge lower fees, focus heavily on direct member service, and give workers a genuine choice about who represents them - including workers who would rather their membership fees did not fund political campaigning.
Between them they represent tens of thousands of nurses, teachers, police, doctors, paramedics and other workers, many of whom hold different views from the positions taken by Labor-aligned unions and do not feel represented by them.
The Government's own media release names "Red Unions" and claims workers join believing they have industrial protection when they do not. The Bill itself, however, treats Red Union associations as having an industrial purpose, which sits awkwardly with that claim.
Section 6 of the Amending Act would give the Government power to declare "exempt associations" by regulation. Those regulations have not been published. Other associations that operate in materially the same way have not been mentioned. On our reading, that creates a real risk of an uneven playing field decided after the Bill has passed.
Yes, other independent unions would be caught up in this change. Essentially any worker association which is not aligned with the Labor Party faces being shut down. That’s why the Victorian Trades Hall Council publicly responded to the Government's announcement with a one-word statement: "Good."
That is a long way from the tradition the union movement was built on - workers organising for themselves, and disagreement being argued out rather than legislated away.
The Bill's powers are not limited to us. They reach incorporated associations generally - community groups, advocacy organisations and clubs - and once a power like this exists, it is available to every future government, not just this one.
If competition between associations can be prohibited, the result is a legislated monopoly. Our view is that this Bill is an attempt to create one over the representation of working people.
Nothing changes today, and your membership and its protections continue as normal. We will publish plain-English updates on this page as the Bill progresses, and we will write to members directly if anything changes that affects them.
If you have a question about your own membership, call the hotline on 1300 263 374 or email hotline@redunion.com.au.
No. Our objection is to a specific legislative mechanism: giving a government the power to decide which workers' associations may exist, and to grant exemptions by regulation. We would oppose that power in the hands of any government, of any party.
What is it that actually scares them?
This Bill is not a response to workers being let down. It is a response to workers being looked after.
Every review below was left on Google by a member of one of these associations, unprompted and unpaid. It is worth asking why a government would want to legislate that out of existence: independent associations that answer the phone, turn up, and get outcomes - at lower fees than the established unions.
When you cannot compete on service, you have two options. You can improve, or you can legislate away the thorn in your side. The Victorian Government has chosen the second.
Don't forget the amazing work for each state organisation - like the NPAQ and TPAQ
Independent, member-run, and not going anywhere
The Red Union Support Hub supports Australia's independent, member-run professional associations - the Nurses' Professional Association of Australia, the Teachers' Professional Association of Australia, the Australian Medical Professionals' Society, the Independent Workers' Union of Australia, the Sworn Officers' Professional Association of Australia and their state affiliates.
These associations exist because workers asked for a different kind of representation: lower fees, faster service, and no obligation to fund anyone's politics. That is the choice this Bill would take away.
There is still time to stop this Bill.
Debate resumes on Wednesday 26 August 2026. The most useful thing you can do today takes two minutes.