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Left, Right and Everyone in Between: Foreman Says Labor's Association Bill Must Be Stopped

Family First Party

Key Facts:

KEY FACTS:

•          The Associations Incorporation Reform Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced to the Victorian Legislative Assembly by the Hon Tim Richardson on 11 August 2026 and is due for debate in the Lower House within weeks

•          The Bill bans Commonwealth-listed terrorist organisations and prohibited hate groups from incorporating in Victoria, but also introduces a broad, discretionary “public interest” test (clauses 6 and 9) that can be used to refuse incorporation to any association, extended by clause 11 to winding up existing incorporated associations, according to analysis published by the Teachers Professional Association of Australia

•          Clause 9(5) is reported to remove VCAT review for associations refused registration on “industrial relations purpose” grounds, leaving only Supreme Court appeal available — a costly path out of reach for most grassroots groups

•          The Spectator Australia (15 August 2026) reports the Bill is aimed at the Red Union network, including the Teachers Professional Association of Australia and Nurses Professional Association of Australia, describing it as creating a “legislated monopoly” on union representation; the Victorian Trades Hall's reported response was a one-word statement: “Good”

•          Greenleft's analysis of the Bill has urged solidarity with RAFFWU against the legislation, describing it as “a thinly veiled attempt to close down an effective union” and arguing workers “should be allowed to join whichever union they choose”

•          An estimated 30,000 Victorian clubs, charities, unions and community groups are incorporated associations that could be affected by the Bill's provisions, according to the Teachers Professional Association of Australia

•          Background: the Bill on the Victorian Parliament's legislation register; The Spectator Australia's 15 August report; Greenleft's analysis backing RAFFWU; the Teachers Professional Association of Australia's campaign page

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Left, Right and Everyone in Between: Foreman Says Labor's Association Bill Must Be Stopped

Mrs Foreman says the Associations Incorporation Reform Amendment Bill 2026, introduced to the Legislative Assembly by the Hon Tim Richardson on 11 August 2026, uses the reasonable-sounding goal of banning terrorist and hate groups from incorporating in Victoria as cover for a much broader power — a vague, discretionary “public interest” test that lets a minister refuse or cancel the incorporated status of any Victorian association, with no requirement for strong evidence, no guarantee of independent oversight, and, on some grounds, no meaningful right of review at all.

Losing incorporated status is not a technicality: it strips an association of the legal standing it needs to hold property, sign leases, take out insurance, employ staff and raise funds. Analysis by the Teachers Professional Association of Australia points to clause 9(5) of the Bill, which appears to remove Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal review for associations refused registration on “industrial relations purpose” grounds — leaving only an expensive Supreme Court appeal open to grassroots unions, advocacy bodies and community groups with nowhere near the resources of a government department.

The Bill has already drawn fire from both ends of the political spectrum. The Spectator Australia (15 August 2026) reports the legislation is aimed squarely at the Red Union network — including the Teachers Professional Association of Australia and the Nurses Professional Association of Australia — apolitical alternatives to Labor-aligned unions that the government's own messaging brands “fake” and a “scam”, despite the Red Union currently negotiating multiple enterprise agreements. Meanwhile Greenleft has urged solidarity with RAFFWU, the militant retail and fast-food union, warning that Premier Carroll's Bill is “a thinly veiled attempt to close down an effective union” dressed up as action against hate groups, and insisting that “retail and fast-food workers should be allowed to join whichever union they choose.”

Family First is calling on the Carroll Government to split the Bill: pass the narrowly defined provisions banning Commonwealth-listed terrorist organisations and prohibited hate groups immediately, and refer the broader ‘public interest’ incorporation and cancellation powers to a full parliamentary inquiry, with a guarantee that any association facing refusal or cancellation retains clear written reasons, independent merits review and access to VCAT — not just the Supreme Court.

Mrs Foreman says the Bill is further proof Victoria needs Family First's genuinely independent voice in the Legislative Council after November — because when unions on the hard left and commentators on the right are both warning that Labor is legislating itself a monopoly on who gets to organise in this state, Victorians deserve MPs willing to say so.

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