Where most employer associations and unions went wrong in their financial reporting

The financial reporting compliance rate for registered employer associations, unions and enterprise unions (“registered organisations”) was 64 per cent for the 2025 financial year, down from 75 per cent in 2022, the Fair Work Commission’s 2025 financial reporting report card shows.

In its latest 2025 financial reporting report card, the Fair Work Commission emphasised that non-compliant registered organisations must ensure they do not have missing or incorrect “nil” disclosures and that their financial reports are complete.

For the 2025 financial year, financial reports from 266 registered organisations were lodged with the commission, and 64 per cent were assessed as compliant.

Out of the non-compliant reports, 51 per cent did not remedy issues identified in their 2024 financial report, 17 per cent referenced the wrong commissioner, 7 per cent did not disclose employee provisions in accordance with reporting guidelines, 9 per cent obscured the disclosure of material items or information, 11 per cent were not lodged within the 14-day deadline, and 7 per cent did not reconcile with the statement of loans, grants and donations.

“Every organisation and every branch of an organisation is a reporting unit. The exception is if the General Manager issues a certificate that divides the organisation into reporting units on a different basis,” the Fair Work Commission website reads.

“Before finalising your financial report, review last year’s filing letter to ensure that any issues identified have been remedied.”

According to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (RO Act), reporting units must lodge their report with a prescribed designated officer certificate with us within 14 days after it is presented at a general meeting of members or a second committee of management meeting.

“This must be done unless the reporting unit has (in advance) received an extension of time to lodge its financial report,” the commission said.

For the next round of financial reporting in 2026, the commission urged registered organisations to ensure financial information is disclosed consistently in their financial reports.