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The Flight Stewards' Association was formed in 1958 for male members, existing in parallel to the Airline Hostesses' Association for female members that was formed in 1956. In 1984, the Flight Stewards' Association became the Australian International Cabin Crew Association and in 1992 amalgamated with the Australian Flight Attendants' Association (previously the Airline Hostesses' Association) to become the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia.

The Australian Flight Attendants' Association was previously known as the Airline Hostesses' Association and changed its name when Qantas, the only international airline operating in Australia at the time, replaced 'Hostesses' with 'Female Flight Service Attendants'. It had an Overseas Branch to represent international cabin crew which operated in parallel to the Australian International Cabin Crew Association which had been renamed from the Flight Stewards' Association. In 1992 the two unions amalgamated to become the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia.

The Flight Attendants' Association of Australia was formed in 1992 when the Australian International Cabin Crew Association and the Australian Flight Attendants' Association amalgamated.

The Australian Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union was formed in 1992 as an amalgamation of the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia and the Federated Liquor and Allied Industries Employees' Union of Australia. Further amalgamations were with the Pastrycooks, Bakers, Biscuitmakers and Allied Trades Union in 1993, the Ambulance Employees' Association of Victoria in 1994 and the Bakery Employees and Salesmen's Federation of Australia in 1995. It was also known as the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union or LHMU. It was renamed United Voice on 1 March 2011.

On 11 November 2019 the National Union of Workers and United Voice merged to create the United Workers Union.

The National Union of Workers was first formed in 1991 following a series of amalgamations of unions from 1989 onwards: the Federated Storemen & Packers Union; the Federated Miller & Manufacturing Grocers Employees Association of Australia; the Rubber and Allied workers Union;the Pastrycook, Biscuit Makers' and Allied Industries Union; the Commercial Travellers Guild. The six unions which currently form the NUW include the Federated Storemen and Packers Union; Federated Rubber and Allied Workers Union; Federated Cold Storage and Meat Preserving Employees' Union; Federated Millers and Manufacturing Grocers Union; Commonwealth Foremen's Association; United Sales Representatives and Commercial Travellers Guild.

On 11 November 2019 the National Union of Workers and United Voice merged to create the United Workers Union.

The Royal Victorian College of Nursing was first constituted in 1901 as the Victorian Trained Nurses' Association. Its role was to improve and protect nursing by registering trained nurses, to introduce a uniform curriculum of training and examination, to look after the welfare of nurses by establishing a benefit scheme and generally to promote the interests of nurses. The prefix 'Royal' was obtained by Royal Charter in 1904 from Edward VII.

In 1934 the RVTNA changed its name to the Royal Victorian College of Nursing which reflected its greater involvement with nursing education. It had transferred its role of registering nurses to the Governments' Victorian Nursing Council in 1924.

In October 1975 the Royal Victorian College of Nursing amalgamated with the Royal Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch), which had previously been the RANF Employees' Section or the body which represented the industrial aims of nurses. They now formed the new Royal Australian Nursing Federation, Victorian Branch. The Royal prefix was dropped both federally and in Victoria in the 1980s.

Needs research to determine dates, scope and relationships with other bakers' trade unions.

Incorporating the Milling, Baking, Cooking and Allied Trades Employees' Union of Queensland (registered under the Trade Union Act of 1915).

Needs research to confirm dates and history.

The first attempt to form a Public Service Association of New South Wales (PSA) was made in April 1886 by Arthur Josling and P.H. Somerville. Their actions may have been prompted by similar moves in Victoria and by growing concerns of political patronage within the service. The Provisional Committee set up to establish the organisation stated that the Association would not have a political character nor would it be a trade union. Thirteen years passed before the union was established in 1899.

The Association's first Chairman was Mr. Cornelius Delohery with Mr. W.A. Thomson elected Secretary. In November 1890 Mr. John Osbourne was appointed as the first permanent Secretary and the first Council was elected to conduct the business of the PSA. In October of the same year, the first country branch was formed at Moree. Others quickly followed in Armidale, Goulburn, Hay, Newcastle, Forbes and Orange.

In 1915, it was decided by a vote of 670 to 538 to register as a trade union under the Industrial Arbitration and Trade Union Acts. The proposal fired spirited debate but, nevertheless, registered as a Trade Union under the Trade Union Act and an Industrial Union under the Industrial Arbitration Act. Four internal divisions were established - Clerical, General, Professional and Education. By 1920, a vocational structure was emerging - the division and representation of members by the jobs they did - and the PSA's first awards were lodged.

In 1922, new legislation again excluded the PSA from the arbitration system. In an attempt to correct this situation the PSA waged a major political campaign between 1925 and 1930 to regain access to the system. The Lang Labor Government eventually amended the legislation. Four sections then emerged - Clerical, General, Professional and Government Agencies - plus a Women's Auxiliary.

Amalgamated into the Australian Bank Officials Association in June 1963.

Representation for Indian merchant navy officers. Affiliated to the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), London. Also affiliated to the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), New Delhi, which represents a very large section of workers from various industries in India.

The United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers of America was founded in 1888. In 1889, the name changed to the National Association of Machinists. Two years later, it became known as the International Association of Machinists and in 1965, this was changed to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Represents painters and workers in allied trades in the United States and Canada.

Unionization of house painters dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, but a permanent national organisation did not emerge until the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators was formed in 1887. In 1890, the union was renamed the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America. Its headquarters were located in Baltimore, Maryland. By 1894, the Union had divided into two factions, and by 1900, the Baltimore faction lost power to the Lafayette, Indiana faction, and the national headquarters were moved to Lafayette.

As the union expanded during the twentieth century, it extended its representation to new trades. Sign painters and scenic artists were brought into the union in 1900. In 1915, unions representing decorative glass workers merged with the BPD & PA. Eventually unorganized workers employed by paint and varnish manufacturers were accepted as members of the national organization. In 1969, the Union's title became the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades. In 2000 the name became the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. The international headquarters of the union are presently located in Hanover, Maryland.

The National Maritime Union (NMU) was an American labor union representing merchant seamen. It was founded in May 1937 by Joseph Curran, Ferdinand Smith, and M. Hedley Stone after a split from the International Seafarer's Union, AFL. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations [CIO] at its first convention in July 1937. It was at this same convention that approximately 30,000 seamen left the ISU to join the NMU. By the end of the year, the NMU had over 50,000 members and contracts with most American shipping concerns.

Joseph Curran was elected president of the NMU and served as such until 1981. Ferdinand Smith, a Jamaican-born man of Afro-Caribbean descent, was its first vice-president; M. Hedley Stone was its first secretary-treasurer. The leadership of the NMU had strong Communist ties. Among the notable reforms achieved by the union's Communist-dominated leadership was 'checkerboarding,' the side-by-side racial integration of sailors' sleeping quarters. Another innovation of the new union was the formation of hiring halls in each port. The hiring halls ensured a steady supply of experienced seamen for passenger and cargo ships, and reduced the corruption which plagued the hiring of able seamen. The hiring halls also worked to combat racial discrimination and promote racial harmony among maritime workers. By the end of World War II, the NMU had nearly 100,000 members.

During World War II, the alliance of Communists and non-Communists in the union was weakened. The Cold War exacerbated the ideological divide, and in 1948, the NMU's Communist leadership and its allies were defeated in union elections and expelled. Joseph Curran had distanced himself from the communist elements and in fact helped purge the NMU of any Communist-affiliated members.

The NMU merged with the Seafarers International Union of North America in 2001.

The International Transport Workers' Federation was founded in 1896 as the International Federation of Ship, Dock and River Workers, adopting its current name in 1898 when it expanded to include transport workers in non-maritime industries. Its initial foundation was in London, in the hands of J. Havelock Wilson of the NSFU, in association with Ben Tillett and Tom Mann, the leaders of the 1889 London dock strike, and also Charles Lindley, the Swedish seamen's unionist, who was to serve the International Transport Workers' Federation for over 50 years.

In 1904, financial problems caused the International Transport Workers' Federation to move to Germany under the secretaryship of the German railwaymen's leader, Hermann Jochade, who rapidly placed the organisation on a more stable administrative and financial footing. The First World War broke down associations between trade unionists and in 1915 the Federation virtually ceased to exist when Jochade was conscripted.

Jochade had established a liaison office in the neutral Netherlands in 1914, supervised by the Dutch Transport Federation (NVV); it was from this base that the international International Transport Workers' Federation was re-established in 1919, with an Amsterdam office, under the secretaryship of Edo Fimmen, joint secretary of the International Federation of Trade Unions and the Dutch trade union federation. Membership again flourished under Fimmen's leadership and major international campaigns, most notably against fascism, marked this period in the International Transport Workers' Federation's history.

By 1939, the imminent outbreak of war caused the International Transport Workers' Federation to move to England, initially to a temporary war-time home in Bedford and later to London. Since the end of World War II the International Transport Workers' Federation has continued to grow, connecting trade unions from 150 countries and engaging in world-wide campaigns on a range of issues. Its headquarters is located in London with offices in Amman, Brussels, Nairobi, New Delhi, Ouagadougou, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. It also represents hotel workers in Hawaii, cannery workers in Alaska, warehouse workers throughout the West and bookstore workers in Portland, Oregon. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike, a 3-month-long strike that culminated in a 4-day general strike in San Francisco, California, and the Bay Area.

The Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union was formerly the Amalgamated Postal Workers' Union, covering postmen, sorters and linesmen. In 1990 the union amalgamated with the Union of Postal Clerks and Telegraphists, then the Australian Postmasters' Association in 1991 and the Postal Supervisory Officers' Association in 1992 retaining its name until merging with the combined Australian Telecommunications Employees' Association and Australian Telephone and Phonogram Officers' Association to form the Communication Workers' Union of Australia later in 1992.

The Police Association of New South Wales was established in 1921. It is a registered trade union affiliated with and represented on the Police Federation of Australia, the New South Wales Labor Council and the Australian Council of Trade Unions [ACTU]. On the 1st of July 1999 the Police Association was formally amalgamated with the Commissioned Police Officers' Association and is now the sole union representing just over fourteen thousand commissioned and non-commissioned New South Wales police officers

The Barrier Industrial Council was formed between 1923 and 1924 to coordinate union activity previously conducted by the Workers' Industrial Union of Australia (miners) and the other unions affiliated with the Trades and Labor Council. It became the most powerful single body in Broken Hill.

Registered in 1914 the union amalgamated with the Australian Workers Union in 1916(?) and was subsequently deregistered in 1950.

The Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage Employees' Association was formed in Sydney in 1908. It comprised a Wages Division and a Salaried Division.

Known today as the Club Managers' Association, Australia, the CMAA is registered as the trade union for managers of Registered Licensed Clubs. It is in the unique position of having its members as both employees and also as employers in their day to day management and administration of Registered Licensed Clubs. Central services provided to members involve industrial relations and education. The Club Managers' Association, Australia was first formed in 1964 as the Club Managers' Association but changed names three years later to become the Secretaries' & Managers' Association of Australia. Finally, in 1993 the union became the Club Managers' Association, Australia.

Represented general staff in higher education, TAFE, Adult Education and student unions, mainly in Victoria.

The Vehicle Builders Employees Federation of Australia, originally known as the Coach-Makers' Society, was registered in 1917 as the Australian Coach Motor Car Tram Car Waggon Builders Wheelwrights and Rolling Stock Makers Employees' Federation. In 1930 it was registered again as the Australian Coach Motor Car Tram Car Waggon Builders Wheelwrights & Air Craft Rolling Stock Makers Employees' Federation and in 1938 became known as the Vehicle Builders Employees' Federation. The Union operated until 1993 when it amalgamated with the Metals and Engineering Workers' Union to form the Automotive Metals and Engineering Union.

The association was formed in 1934 from the Australian Tramway Employees Association and was registered until 1950. In the same year it was deregistered, members formed a new union of the same name. In 1993 the union merged with the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, the National Union of Rail Workers and the Australian Railways Union to form the Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union

The Australian Maritime Officers' Union was first known as the Mercantile Marine Officers' Association. A General Meeting of members held on 12 February 1904 agreed to adopt the name Merchant Service Guild of Australasia. The Guild was registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Act of 1904 on 5 May 1905. It was the first employee organisation to be registered under this act. On 3 September 1957 the name of the union was changed to the Merchant Service Guild of Australia and in 1992 it merged with the Australian Stevedoring Supervisors' Association to form the Australian Maritime Officers' Union.

Teachers' unions in South Australia began in 1885 with the formation of the Adelaide Teachers' Association. The Country Teachers' Association formed in 1887 and the two merged in 1887 to become the South Australian Teachers' Association. This association split in 1936 into the South Australian Public Teachers' Union and the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild. These separate organisations remained apart until 1951 when teachers voted to form a single representative body called the South Australian Institute of Teachers [SAIT].

The Australian Broadcasting Commission Staff Association was registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act on 31 October 1938. On 28 February 1985 the name was changed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Staff Union. In 1989 the union amalgamated with the Administrative & Clerical Officers' Association and the Australian Public Service Association to form the Australian Public Sector and Broadcasting Union, Australian Government Employment (generally known as the Public Sector Union). The ABC Sub-branch of the Public Sector Union handled the ABC issues.

Formed in 1898 to look after the interests of teachers in Western Australian government schools.

The Queensland State Service Union was formed in 1902, and was initially called the Public Service Association of Queensland. It changed its name to the Public Service General Officers' Association of Queensland in 1915 and then to the QSSU in 1924. Since 1999 it has been known as the Queensland Public Sector Union. The Queensland State Service Union was the first registered Union in Queensland representing members employed in the Queensland Public Service Departments. In 1913 the Public Service Association of Queensland comprised the General Officers Association, the Professional Officers Association, and the Queensland Teachers Union. The union continues to serve Public Service employees, members employed in universities, a range of statutory authorities, as well as the public and private health sector.

Federated and registered in 1911 as the Rubber Workers' Union of Australia, this union immediately recognised the growing importance of motor transport within the Australian economy, particularly in terms of how it would affect the rubber industry. By 1916 the union had changed names to the Federated Rubber Workers of Australia. In 1923 its name changed again, this time to the Federated Rubber Workers' Union of Australia. Ten years later, in 1933, it became the Federated Rubber & Allied Workers' Union of Australia. In common with textile and clothing unions, the Rubber and Allied Worker's Union sought to deal with the problem of high labour turnover and with improving the position of migrant labour in Australian industry. After amalgamating with the Storemen and Packers' Union in 1988 to form the National Union of Storeworkers Packers Rubber & Allied Workers, it eventually became part of the National Union of Workers in 1991.

The Maritime Union of Australia was formed in 1993 with the merging of several maritime unions, principally the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia and the Seamen’s Union of Australia. For a brief time Joint General Secretaries controlled the Union and the representation and responsibilities of the former Waterside Workers’ Federation and the Seamen’s Union were differentiated. Following the waterfront dispute of 1997-1998, however, the Maritime Union of Australia became consolidated as a single entity.

The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia was formed in 1992 from the amalgamation of the Amalgamated Footwear & Textile Workers' Union of Australia with the Clothing & Allied Trades Union of Australia.

The Constuction Forestry Mining and Energy Union is the result of a series of amalgamations during the early 1990s. Prior to amalgamation there were numerous unions spread across construction, forestry, mining and energy industries. Those unions amalgamated along industry lines to form each of the divisions of the CFMEU. Each division operates autonomously, with its own membership, executive, resources, industry policies and campaigns. These divisions date as far back as the mid-nineteenth century and include such notable unions as the Australasian Coal and Shale Employees' Federation (the Miners' Federation), the Building Workers' Industrial Union of Australia, the Australian Timber Workers' Union, the Federated Furnishing Trade Society of Australasia, the Operative Plasterers' Federation of Australia, the Operative Painters' and Decorators' Union of Australia, and the Federated Engine Drivers' and Firemen's Association of Australasia.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) was formed in 2018 throught he amalgamation of the Construction Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

The New South Wales Typographical Association was formed after a series of meetings held in early 1880 and registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act, 1881, on the 15 June 1882. It had been known as the Sydney Typographical Association until changing its name on 1 January 1882. Prior to its formation in 1880 there had been several similar societies in Sydney, such as the Compositors' Society, the Sydney Typographical Society, and a different N.S.W. Typographical Association. In 1917-1918 the NSW Typographical Association was converted to the New South Wales branch of the Printing Industry Employees' Union of Australia.

The Australasian Society of Engineers was established in 1890, by members of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers dissatisfied with the British dominance of that union. The Australasian Society of Engineers was first federally registered as a trade union in 1910 at which time there were branches in New South Wales, Adelaide (1904), Western Australia and Broken Hill (1909). By January 1914 the union branches included Collie, Melbourne, Adelaide, SA State, Wallaroo, Newcastle, South Sydney, Bathurst, Sydney, Perth, Petersburg, Port Adelaide, Quorn, Granville, Broken Hill, and Prospect. The union became defunct in February 1938 but was re-registered in August 1938. In 1991 it amalgamated with the Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia to form the Federation of Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering Employees. This union later amalgamated with the Australian Workers' Union to form the AWU-FIME Amalgamated Union in 1993, later known simply as the AWU.

Registered in 1912, the Federated Felt Hatting Employees' Union of Australasia and its predecessors flourished from the nineteenth century up until midway through the twentieth century in what was a protected domestic industry. It re-registered as the Federated Felt Hatting & Allied Trade Employees' Union of Australia in 1950. The industry, and consequently, the union began to wane before the multiple onslaught of mechanisation, imports, and fashion. In 1984 it amalgamated with the Australian Textile Workers' Union and in 1987 became the Amalgamated Footwear and Textile Workers' Union of Australia after another amalgamation, this time with the Australian Boot Trade Employees' Federation. By 1992, this union had merged with the Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia to form the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia.

The Federated Felt Hatting and Allied Trade Employees' Union of Australia re-registered in 1950. Its predecessor, the Federated Felt Hatting Employees' Union of Australasia, registered in 1912 and its predecessors flourished from the nineteenth century up until midway through the twentieth century in what was a protected domestic industry. After 1950 the industry, and consequently, the union began to wane before the multiple onslaught of mechanisation, imports, and fashion. In 1984, it amalgamated with the Australian Textile Workers' Union and in 1987 became the Amalgamated Footwear and Textile Workers' Union of Australia after another amalgamation, this time with the Australian Boot Trade Employees' Federation. By 1992 this union had merged with the Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia to form the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia.

The first waterside workers' unions in Australia were formed in Port Adelaide, Sydney, and Sandridge (Port Melbourne) in 1872. By 1889 there were notable waterfront unions in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Although the various unions federated in March 1890 the Waterside Workers' Federation was not established until 7 February 1902 with Mr William Morris Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia, 1915-1923) elected its first President. The Waterside Workers' Federation was registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act on 1 July 1907 and the first comprehensive Commonwealth award for waterside workers dates from 13 December 1915. In January 1914 an office of the Waterside Workers’ Federation was established in Melbourne. After 1939 the Federation was located in Sydney. In order to manage the Waterside Workers' Federation Branches the Federal Executive, in 1902, established a Committee of Management (COM). The COM comprised delegates from the Executive of each Branch, and each Branch was entitled to one member for every 500 financial members. Furthermore, any of the COM’s resolutions that were approved by less than a 3/5 majority had to be submitted to at least 500 financial members of the rank and file for endorsement. Although designed to ease interstate rivalries this method of decision-making often exacerbated tension. The structure of the Waterside Workers' Federation remained largely unchanged until 1950 when it absorbed the Permanent and Casual Wharf Labourers' Union of Australia. In 1991 the Waterside Workers' Federation amalgamated with the Australian Foremen Stevedore Association but retained the name Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia. In 1993 the Waterside Workers' Federation of Australia joined with the Seamen's Union of Australia to form the Maritime Union of Australia.

The Tailoresses' Association of Melbourne was formed in 1880 and began meeting with the Tailors' Trade Protection Society in 1905. The Pressers' Union, which had formed in 1884, amalgamated with the Cutters' & Joiners' Union in 1902 to form the Victorian Clothing Operatives' Union.

In 1907, the Tailoresses' Association of Melbourne, the Tailors' Trade Protection Society, the Victorian Clothing Operatives' Union and other interstate clothing unions combined to form the Federated Clothing Trades Union of the Commonwealth of Australia. As elements of the trade incorporated into the union, it changed names to the Federated Clothing & Allied Trades Union in 1922, the Amalgamated Clothing & Allied Trades Union in 1924 and the Clothing & Allied Trades Union of Australia in 1947. In 1992 another change of name was effected, this time to the Textile, Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia.

The Australian Journalists' Association (AJA) was formed in Melbourne on 10 December 1910 and registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act on 23 May 1911. The New South Wales Branch (then District) of the Union was formed on 25 August 1911, having taken over the assets and liabilities of the New South Wales Institute of Journalists which had been formed a few years prior in 1907 as a statewide association of press reporters. In 1913 the AJA NSW District was registered under the Trades Union Act of NSW, later adopting the title of NSW Journalists' Union for the purposes of state arbitration.

On 11 May 1913 The Writers' and Artists' Union amalgamated with the NSW District. An Authors' Section of the NSW District was established in August 1921 to protect the interests of Australian authors and in particular to act against the importation into Australia of syndicated literary material. The Section lapsed in 1926 and was reconstructed in 1935 as the Authors' and Artists' Section. The AJA NSW District Ethics Committee was formed on 7 July 1942 to prepare and administer a Code of Ethics which was adopted in August 1942. The Code bound all members of the NSW District to standards of professional conduct and the Ethics Committee continued its operations through the 1960s and 1970s as the Judiciary Committee.

The AJA NSW Benevolent Fund was established by the NSW Institute of Journalists, handed over to the AJA NSW District in 1911 and later received substantial support from J. F. Archibald, founding editor of The Bulletin. The fund operates to provide the financial assistance to journalists and their families affected by unemployment, sickness, incapacity or death. Since its establishment the AJA New South Wales Branch has sought to obtain award coverage of its members employed in newspapers, government departments, law courts and other organisations. In 1979 its members included journalists (including those employed in broadcasting and television), authors, shorthand writers, Hansard reporters, public relations officers, photographers and press artists.

The Australian Journalists Association is a federal union governed by a Federal Council meeting annually and consisting of an elected executive and two delegates (branch secretary and branch president) from each branch. Until 1968 Federal Executive Officers were elected by Federal Council after nominations by branch committees. Federal Executive Offices after 1969 were elected by a ballot of AJA membership. The AJA Federal Office was located in Melbourne from 1911-1932 and moved to Sydney in 1933. AJA Branch Committee members and Branch Officers were elected by Branch membership and served annual terms with the exception of the Branch secretary who since 1943 has served triennial terms. This union served its members until 1991 when it amalgamated with the Australian Commercial & Industrial Artists' Association to form a new reregistered Australian Journalists' Association. Between 1992 and 1993 the AJA amalgamated with the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association and the Actors' Equity of Australia to form the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance in 1993.

The Mildura Trades Hall Council was a regional Trades and Labour Council coordinating campaigns and providing advice for unionists in Victoria's northern regions.

The Pastrycooks were the first established industrial organisation in Victoria around the turn of the century, created in the hope of achieving State intervention to set minimum wages through the Wages Board system. The pastrycooks subsequently joined up with the industrial unions of biscuit factory employees and allied trades to form the Pastrycooks Employees' Biscuit Makers Employees' and Flour and Sugar Workers' Union of Victoria. The Union was registered federally in 1911 as the Federated Pastrycooks Biscuit Makers Ornamenters and Flour and Sugar Goods Union of Australia, this union operated for six years before changing name in 1917 to the Federated Pastrycooks Employees' Biscuitmakers Employees' and Flour & Sugar Goods Workers' Union of Australia. In 1975 the union became the Pastrycooks Bakers Biscuitmakers and Allied Trades Union. This union was amalgamated into the Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers' Union in 1993.

The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) in 1851. The ASE was one of the 'New Model Unions' of the 1850s-1870s. These unions, which also included the Ironfounders, Builders, and Carpenters' societies, rejected Chartism and the ideas of Robert Owen in favour of a more moderate policy based on 'prudence', 'respectability' and steady growth. Great importance was attached to the question of finance, as substantial funds would not only provide maintenance for members involved in strike action, but also help to deter the employers from attacking the organisation. Since its members were skilled and relatively highly paid, it was possible for the ASE to charge contributions of one shilling a week and to build up a fund of unprecedented proportions. In 1852 and 1896, the ASE was involved in extended national lockouts which greatly weakened the organisation. Many local and regional unions joined the ASE in subsequent years and in 1920, after the acquisition of nine fresh member unions, the name of the organisation was changed to the Amalgamated Engineering Union. The AEU continued to grow and absorb smaller unions. Its largest membership growth came during the Second World War when its all-male membership voted to admit women for the first time and 100,000 joined almost immediately. However, the AEU also lost its overseas branches in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, who became independent unions. The AEU merged with the National Union of Foundry Workers (NUFW) in 1967 and the Draughtsmen and Allied Technicians' Association (DATA) in 1971 to form the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers.

The Amalgamated Society of Engineers was formed in 1851 through proposals drawn up by three unions, the Old Mechanics, the Steam Engine Makers' Society and the General Smiths. However, because some branches of the unions involved failed to ratify the amalgamation the union formed with only 5000 members (less than the membership of the Old Mechanics). Over the following year many of the societies gradually decided on formal amalgamation including the New Society of Millwrights; the Old Society of Engineers and Machinists of London; the London Smiths; the Steam Engine Makers' Society; the United Machine Workers' Asssociation; the United Kingdom Society of Amalgamated Smiths and Strikers; the Associated Brassfounders', Turners', Fitters' and Finishers' Society; the North of England Brassfounders' Society; the Amalgamated Instrument Makers' Society and the Amalgamated Society of General Toolmakers, Engineers and Machinists. By the end of 1851 the number of members had increased to 10481 and the birth of one of the most influential unions in the United Kingdom was complete. However, almost immediately the union was nearly bankrupted through the engineering lock-out of 1852 where employers demanded that workers sign a declaration stating they would not join a trade union movement. After three months the union relented and the men returned to work but from this setback the union recovered quickly (so much so that by 1861 it consisted of 236 branches). The union continued to grow in the following years until in 1920 when the Amalgamated Society of Engineers along with seventeen other Unions joined together to form the Amalgamated Engineering Union.

The Amalgamated Metal Workers Union originally formed in 1973 from the amalgamation of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, the Sheet Metal Working, Agricultural Implement and Stovemaking Industrial Union of Australia, the Boilermakers' and Blacksmiths' Society of Australia, and the Federated Jewellers. In 1976 the union amalgamated with the Federated Shipwrights' & Ship Constructors' Association of Australia to become the Amalgamated Metal Workers & Shipwrights Union. In 1983 it joined the Federated Moulders (Metals) Union of Australia to become the Amalgamated Metals Foundry and Shipwrights' Union. It reverted to the name Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union in 1985 and operated until 1991 when it amalgamated with the Association of Draughting Supervisory & Technical Employees to become the Metals & Engineering Workers' Union.

In 1918 various New South Wales teachers' associations such as the NSW Public School Teachers' Association, the NSW Public School Assistant Teachers' Association, the Women Teachers' Association, the Headmasters' Association, the Manual Training Teachers' Association and the Sewing Mistresses' Association, met to discuss the likelihood of an amalgamation. The result was the founding of the New South Wales Teachers' Federation in 1919. Without rivals it gained and held the loyalty of most teachers throughout the 1920s. Despite a lull in membership during the Great Depression years, the NSW Teachers' Federation formally linked itself to the state and national trade union movement during World War Two by affiliating with the NSW Labour Council and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. After the war large salary gains were achieved and about 90% of teachers became members of the union. The New South Wales Teachers' Federation was instrumental in lobbying the government of the day to introduce equal pay for women in 1958 and 1963. The NSW Teachers' Federation is affiliated with the Australian Education Union, constituting its NSW Branch whilst retaining its separate identity.

In October 2015 the union changed its name from The New South Wales Teachers Federation to the Australian Education Union New South Wales Teachers Federation Branch.

The Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat (PPTUS) was established as a result of a Pan-Pacific Trade Union Conference organised by the Labor Council of New South Wales held in September 1926 (see 'In the Case of Oppression: the Life and Times of the Labor Council of New South Wales p. 200), although a conference held the following year, 1927, in China has also been suggested as the time of the PPTUS's establishment.

The Unemployed People's Union organisation in Sydney first formed in Parramatta in 1978 to represent unemployed workers. The name was chosen because of the "Up You" acronym and its membership was drawn mostly from unemployed young people. An Inner City group of UPU formed soon after the Parramatta group.

The first seamen’s unions in Australia were formed in Melbourne (1872) and in Sydney (1874). In 1876 the Melbourne Seamen’s Union and the Sydney Seamen’s Union amalgamated and, by 1880, there were seamen’s unions in all the eastern and south-eastern colonies of Australia as well as in several ports in New Zealand. The Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia was registered in 1906 under the Commonwealth's industrial relations legislation and, in 1907, Head Office was transferred from Melbourne to Sydney. Although the Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia was deregistered in 1925, in 1930 many of its members went on to form the Seamen's Union of Australasia which, in 1943, became the Seamen’s Union of Australia. Despite amalgamations with the Marine Cooks, Bakers and Butchers' Association of Australia in 1983, the Federated Marine Stewards and Pantrymen’s Association of Australasia in 1988 and the Professional Divers' Association in 1991, it remained the Seamen's Union of Australia until 1993 when it amalgamated with the Waterside Workers' Federation to form the Maritime Union of Australia.

The New South Wales Nurses’ Association (NSWNA) was formed in 1931 and was registered as a trade union in New South Wales on 20 November 1945. By this time it had amalgamated with the Trained Mental Nurses' Association (May, 1945). It was the registered union for all nurses in New South Wales in both public and private sectors. The membership of the Association comprised all those who perform nursing work, including Assistants in Nursing, Enrolled Nurses and Registered Nurses at all levels, including management and education. With the exception of Assistants in Nursing, the members of the NSWNA were also members of the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF), a federally registered industrial organisation, and formed the NSW Branch of the ANF. At the Association's 2012 Annual Conference the name of the organisation was changed to the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association.

The earliest records of the union extant are dated Dec 1901. In 1920 the union amalgamated with the Australian Bookbinders' and Paper Rulers' Federated Association, New South Wales Lithographic Association, and the Process Engravers' Union of NSW to form the Amalgamated Printing Trade Employees Union of NSW, a predecessor of the Amalgamated Printing Trades Employees Union of Australia

The South Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association was formed around 1885. It continued to be known by this name (and later as the South Australian Locomotive Enginemen, Firemen and Cleaners' Association) despite its membership of the Federated Railway Locomotive Enginemen's Association of Australasia in 1900 and only in the 1920s identified itself as the South Australian branch of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen.

E.C. Peverill from the National Bank of Australasia in Victoria was instrumental in establishing the Bank Officials' Association in 1919. The union also covered Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. In Sydney the United Bank Officers' Association was formed in the same year. By 1921 the separate state unions known as the Bank Officials' Association of South Australia and the Bank Officials' Association of Western Australia had also been formed. In 1919 K.H. Laidlaw formed the United Bank Officers' Association of Queensland. While the Bank Officials' Association in Victoria was registered federally the other unions were registered in various state courts. In 1921 the Bank Officials' Association in Victoria proposed an amalgamation of all banking unions, to be organised with a federal council and state branches. However, the UBOA of New South Wales and Queensland both rejected this proposal, partly due to Sydney Smith's (the New South Wales Secretary) fears that amalgamation would mean the loss of state autonomy. Smith planned to register federally a union of bank officers from the fast growing Commonwealth Bank and to expedite this he formed the Commonwealth Bank Branch of the UBOA of NSW. This was registered in 1921 as the United Bank Officers' Association, Commonwealth Branch. In 1924 this branch refined names slightly to become the United Bank Officers' Association, Commonwealth Bank Branch. In 1930 the Commonwealth Bank Branch became a separate association altogether and was renamed the Commonwealth Bank Officers' Association. In 1954 the Bank Officials' Association proposed amalgamation at an interstate conference, and the UBOA again refused. The turning point came in 1958 when the NSW Industrial Court handed down a new award. Amalgamation talks began at an interstate conference in April 1960. In June 1963 Western Australia became a member followed shortly by South Australia but it was not until 1966 that the UBOA of New South Wales joined the Australian Bank Officials' Association as a Division to complete the amalgamation.

Known originally as the Federated Furnishing Trade Societies of Australasia from 1909, when it was formed, by 1914 the name had been changed slightly to the Federated Furnishing Trade Society of Australasia. The Society's Federal Office was based in Melbourne with branches in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT. The union covered cabinet makers, French polishers, upholsterers, mattress makers, piano makers, carpet layers, furnishing drapery, wicker workers, and in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania wood machinists and workers in the flat glass trade as well as automotive glass, baby carriages, coffins, musical instrument makers and organ makers. Operating until 1993, the Society eventually amalgamated with the Federated Brick Tile & Pottery Industrial Union of Australia and the Operative Painters' & Decorators' Union of Australia into the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union.

The Australian Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Officers' Association was formed in 1912, and changed its name to the Australian Postal Assistants' Union in 1917. In 1926 it was renamed the Fourth Division Postmasters', Postal Clerks' and Telegraphists' Union, the term 'Fourth Division' referring to the lowest-paid division of the Commonwealth Public Service. It remained an autonomous body until amalgamating with the Australian Third Division Telegraphists' and Postal Clerks' Union, effective from 19 February 1967, to form the Union of Postal Clerks and Telegraphists.

The first shop committees in the New South Wales Railways were formed at Eveleigh and Enfield railway workshops in about 1926. At the end of 1929 six workshops were affiliated to a Central Council of Railway Shop Committees: Chullora Signal Branch, Per Way Shops and Electric Car Shops, Enfield Locomotives, Clyde Workshop, and Mortdale Workshop. The first monthly issue of The Magnet, the official journal of the Central Council of Railway Shop Committees, was distributed free throughout the railway workshops in 1934. From 1960s, the campaigning activities of the shop committees were assumed by the trade unions.

Air Pilots' Guild of Australia (APGA) was formed in 1968 by Ian Archibald Cameron, a former member of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP), and registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act on 3 February 1970. The AFAP were against this rival union from the outset and throughout the 1970s made attempts to have the Guild (APGA) de-registered. Throughout the 1970s the Guild struggled to maintain the membership numbers required to remain a registered union, it also had difficulties collecting membership subscriptions which meant that they had very little funds. Compounding the difficulties were the numerous cases brought against the Guild by other organisations which were heard by the Flight Crew Officer's Tribunal. A final case brought against the Guild by David George Shrubb (acting as himself but also representing the AFAP) went to the Federal Court. Despite the efforts of the Guild's Industrial Officer, Frank Stevens, to put the case for the Guild, the outcome was its de-registration. Cameron attempted to get this decision overturned, but was unsuccessful. The AFAP finally registered in 1986.

The Australian Workers' Union, registered federally in 1905, initially sought to serve unskilled rural workers such as shearers and general labourers and eventually grew to be politically influential within the Australian Labor Party. Increasing in size as members from deregistered unions such as the South Australian United Laborers' Union and the Australian Carriers' Union were absorbed into the fold, the AWU postured itself as the 'One Big Union' of Australian trade unionism. In 1976 the union was reregistered following an amalgamation with the Wool and Basil Workers' Federation of Australia. The Union was again reregistered in 1988 when it merged with the Undertakers' Assistants and Cemetery Employees' Union. A final amalgamation in 1993 with Federation of Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering Employees brought about the AWU-FIME Amalgamated Union but it continues to be known as the Australian Workers' Union.

The Tasmanian Teachers' Federation was formed in 1905. In 1993 this union, the Secondary Colleges Staff Association and the Tasmanian TAFE Staff Society merged with the Australian Education Union to form its Tasmanian branch.

The FSU was founded in July 1991 when the two main trade union players in the banking and insurance industries - the Australian Bank Employees' Union [ABEU] and the Australian Insurance Employee's Union [AIEU] voted to amalgamate. Three smaller unions also linked up: the AMP Society Staff Association, Trustee Companies Officers' Association and Wool Brokers' Staff Association. In March 1994, the FSU was further strengthened when the Commonwealth Bank Officers' Association [CBOA] joined with the FSU.

Created through an amalgamation of the Australian Public Service Association, the Administrative & Clerical Officers' Association, Australian Government Employment and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Staff Union in 1989, the Australian Public Sector & Broadcasting Union, Australian Government Employment was reregistered in 1991 following a further amalgamation with the Meat Inspectors' Association.

The CPSU was formed in 1994 after the Public Sector Professional Scientific Research Technical Communications Aviation & Broadcasting Union changed its name. The CPSU currently represents telecommunications, broadcasting and public sector workers.

The Australian Public Service Association (Fourth Division Officers) had its origins in the Federated Public Service Assistants' Association of Australia which was registered in 1914. The union became known as the Commonwealth Public Service Association (Fourth Division Officers) in 1967 and then eventually in 1974 became known as the Australian Public Service Association (Fourth Division Officers). By the end of 1986 the name was shortened to the Australian Public Service Association. In 1989, the union amalgamated with the Administrative & Clerical Officers' Association, Australian Government Employment and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Staff Union to form the Australian Public Sector and Broadcasting Union. This was reregistered in 1991 following a further amalgamation with the Meat Inspectors' Association. By the end of 1992 the union had amalgamated twice more, firstly with the Professional Officers' Association and then the Professional Radio & Electronics Institute of Australasia to eventually form the Public Sector Professional Technical Communications Aviation & Broadcasting Union. A year later this union had merged with the CSIRO Staff Association to form the Public Sector Professional Scientific Research Technical Communications Aviation & Broadcasting Union which, in 1994, evolved into the Community and Public Sector Union [CPSU].

The Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria was formed from the Technical Teachers' Association of Victoria which had operated independently from the Victorian Teachers' Union since 1967. Although a breakaway from the Victorian Teachers' Union, growing dissatisfaction with the Victorian Teachers' Tribunal led, in 1976, to an agreement between the Victorian Teachers' Union, the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association to work together on the basis of joint policy, for improved industrial relations for teachers. In August 1981 the VTU Victorian Federation subcommittee agreed that there should be a Victorian Teachers' Federation modelled on the NSW Teachers' Federation. In July 1984 the Teacher's Federation of Victoria was established as an umbrella organisation for industrial purposes, with the three teacher unions remaining autonomous. In 1990 the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Teachers' Union amalgamated as the Federated Teachers' Union of Victoria. By 1995 the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association had also amalgamated with them to form the Victorian Branch of the Australian Education Union.

Teachers' unions in South Australia began in 1885 with the formation of the Adelaide Teachers' Association. The Country Teachers' Association formed in 1887 and the two merged in 1887 to become the South Australian Teachers' Association. This association split in 1936 into the South Australian Public Teachers' Union and the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild. These separate organisations remained apart until 1951 when teachers voted to form a single representative body called the South Australian Institute of Teachers [SAIT]. SAIT covered all teachers and school assistants in the State's primary schools, pre-schools and secondary schools, as well as teachers in the fields of further education and non-government schools. SAIT became the South Australian branch of the Australian Education Union in 1993.

Teachers' unions in South Australia began in 1885 with the formation of the Adelaide Teachers' Association. The Country Teachers' Association formed in 1887 and the two merged in 1887 to become the South Australian Teachers' Association. This association split in 1936 into the South Australian Public Teachers' Union and the South Australian Women Teachers' Guild. These separate organisations remained apart until 1951 when teachers voted to form a single representative body called the South Australian Institute of Teachers [SAIT]. SAIT covered all teachers and school assistants in the State's primary schools, pre-schools and secondary schools, as well as teachers in the fields of further education and non-government schools. SAIT became the South Australian branch of the Australian Education Union in 1993.

In 1918 various New South Wales teachers' associations such as the NSW Public School Teachers' Association, the NSW Public School Assistant Teachers' Association, the Women Teachers' Association, the Headmasters' Association, the Manual Training Teachers' Association and the Sewing Mistresses' Association, met to discuss the likelihood of an amalgamation. The result was the founding of the New South Wales Teachers' Federation in 1919. Without rivals it gained and held the loyalty of most teachers throughout the 1920s. Despite a lull in membership during the Great Depression years, the NSW Teachers' Federation formally linked itself to the state and national trade union movement during World War Two by affiliating with the NSW Labour Council and the Australian Council of Trade Unions. After the war large salary gains were achieved and about 90% of teachers became members of the union. The New South Wales Teachers' Federation was instrumental in lobbying the government of the day to introduce equal pay for women in 1958 and 1963. The NSW Teachers' Federation is affiliated with the Australian Education Union, constituting its NSW Branch whilst retaining its separate identity.

In August 1981 the Victorian Teachers' Union Victorian Federation subcommittee agreed that there should be a Victorian Teachers' Federation modelled on the NSW Teachers' Federation. In July 1984 the Teacher's Federation of Victoria was established as an umbrella organisation for industrial purposes, with the three teacher unions (the Victorian Teachers' Union, the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association) remaining autonomous. In 1990 the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Teachers' Union amalgamated as the Federated Teachers' Union of Victoria. By 1995 the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association amalgamated with the FTUV to form the Victorian Branch of the Australian Education Union.

In 1967, technical teachers of the Victorian Teachers' Union left to form the Technical Teachers' Association of Victoria and later became known as the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria. Although a breakaway from the VTU, growing dissatisfaction with the Victorian Teachers' Tribunal led, in 1976, to an agreement between the VTU, Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association to work together on the basis of joint policy, for improved industrial relations for teachers. In August 1981 the VTU Victorian Federation subcommittee agreed that there should be a Victorian Teachers' Federation modelled on the NSW Teachers' Federation. In July 1984 the Teacher's Federation of Victoria was established as an umbrella organisation for industrial purposes, with the three teacher unions remaining autonomous. In 1990 the Technical Teachers' Union of Victoria and the Victorian Teachers' Union amalgamated as the Federated Teachers' Union of Victoria. By 1995 the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association had amalgamated with the FTUV to form the Victorian Branch of the Australian Education Union.

The Victorian Teachers' Union was established following negotiations from 1923 to 1926 between the Victorian State School Teachers' Union, the Victorian High School Teachers' Union and the Victorian Technical Teachers' Association. These three organisations amalgamated on 13 August 1926 to form the Victorian Teachers' Union with a membership of about 5000. In 1948 secondary teachers broke away from the VTU to form the Victorian Secondary Masters' Professional Association which in 1953 became the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association. Technical Teachers left in 1967 and formed the Technical Teachers' Association of Victoria. In November 1974 the Union moved to new Headquarters in Camberwell. Growing dissatisfaction with the Victorian Teachers' Tribunal led in 1976 to an agreement between the VTU, Technical Teachers' Association of Victoria and the Victorian Secondary Teachers' Association to work together on the basis of joint policy, for improved industrial relations for teachers. In August 1981 the VTU Victorian Federation subcommittee agreed that there should be a Victorian Teachers' Federation modelled on the NSW Teachers' Federation. In July 1984 the Teacher's Federation of Victoria was established as an umbrella organisation for industrial purposes, with the three teacher unions remaining autonomous. The Teachers' Federation of Victoria is now the Victorian Branch of the Australian Education Union following an affiliation in 1993.

The Musicians' Union of Australia was registered with the Commonwealth Conciliation Court on 13 March 1911. The union was composed of State Districts, some of which were divided into local branches. Although Western Australia was represented at some very early Federal meetings it did not formally join the union until March 1962. From August 1961 to 1975 the union was re-named the Professional Musicians' Union of Australia. It reverted back to the Musicians' Union of Australia in 1975. Prior to 1911 there were several unions which led up to forming the Musicians' Union of Australia. The Professional Orchestral Benefit Association was founded in 1897 before changing its name to the Professional Musicians' Benefit Association of Australasia on 10 April 1899 before a further change on 8 July 1901 to the Professional Musicians' Association of Australasia (PMAA). In August 1902 the PMAA and the Professional Orchestral Musicians' Union of Australia formed the Amalgamated Musicians' Union of Australasia (which appointed an executive to meet once a year to settle disputed matters, make rules, levy fines, etc.), although the PMAA continued as a separate body. On 9 September 1907 the PMAA was dissolved and all assets were handed over to the Professional Musicians' Club and an agreed sum was given to the newly-formed Professional Musicians' Union of Australasia on 8 April 1907. The Professional Musicians' Club had been registered as an Association with limited liability under section 52 of the Companies Act (1899) on 11 June 1907. At some time between 1907 and 1912 the word "Professional" was dropped from the title of the Professional Musicians' Union of Australasia. Both the name Musicians' Union of Australasia and the final form, Musicians' Union of Australia are found in records till about 1916 at which point the Musicians' Union of Australia becomes the form used.

The Musicians’ Union of Australia represents musicians, musical librarians, copyists, composers, vocalists and musical arrangers. The supreme governing body of the Union was the Federal Council, which met every year at the Annual Conference. The Federal Executive met regularly to implement policy as determined by Council. The union had branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Newcastle and Broken Hill, which were administered by a Branch Committee. The Federal and Branch Secretaries were elected for a four-year term by the rank and file.

The following is a list of Awards, Determinations and agreements that the union was concerned with:

● The General Musicians Award (from which State awards flow)
● AHA Agreements
● ABC Determinations
● Opera & Ballet Award
● Commercial Television Award
● Jingles Agreement
● ARIA Agreement

The MUA is affiliated with the ACTU, the ALP in Victoria, NSW and WA and the Federation of International Musicians.

The Federated House and Ship Painters, Paperhangers and Decorators Employees' Association of Australasia became the Operative Painters and Decorators of Australasia in 1915. In 1918 it changed its name to the Operative Painters' and Decorators' Union of Australia. Seventy-five years later, the union amalgamated to form the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union in 1993.

The Federated Artificial Fertilizers and Chemical Workers' Union of Australia originated as the Federated Artificial Manure Trade and Chemical Workers' Union of Australia. Formed in 1913 as a breakaway union to the then communist-controlled Federated Ironworkers' Association, the Federated Artificial Manure Trade and Chemical Workers Union of Australia underwent a change of name in 1921 to the Federated Artificial Fertilizers and Chemical Workers' Union of Australia. By the end of 1948 this union had been deregistered and then reregistered under the same name. In 1975 it was amalgamated back into the Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia, which subsequently became the Federation of Industrial Manufacturing and Engineering Employees.

Employees engaged in the manufacture of confectionery in New South Wales were represented by the NSW Confectioners' Society from 1889. The Society was formed by a committe of two delegates, each from JG Nicholls & Company, Dillon, Burrows & Company, Ennever & Appleton, Biddell Brothers and James Stedman and the following office bearers elected - President: Mr George King, Secretary: Mr I Phelan, Treasurer: Mr E Evans. From 1902 to 1926 journeymen confectioners in New South Wales were represented by the NSW Journeymen Confectioners' Union.

The Federated Confectioners' Association of Australia was registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in 1925. The NSW Branch of the Federated Confectioners’ Association of Australia was represented by the New South Wales Journeymen Confectioners’ Union. In 1945 the membership expanded to include members of the Female Confectioners' Union (1916). It changed its name to the Confectionery Workers’ Union of Australia in 1986 and in 1992 merged with the Food Preservers Union of Australia to form the Confectionery Workers and Food Preservers Union of Australia.

The Union formed in 1994 when the Automotive Metals & Engineering Union and the Confectionery Workers' & Food Preservers' Union of Australia amalgamated. In 1995 it merged with the Printing & Kindred Industries Union to form the Automotive Food Metals Engineering Printing & Kindred Industries Union, otherwise known as the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) was established in 1995 after the Automotive Food Metals and Engineering Union amalgamated with the Printing and Kindred Industries Union to become the Automotive Food Metals Engineering Printing and Kindred Industries Union, better known as the AMWU.

The Confectionery Workers and Food Preservers Union of Australia was formed in 1992 through an amalgamation of the Confectionery Workers' Union of Australia and the Food Preservers' Union of Australia. In 1994 the CW&FPU amalgamated with the Automotive Metals and Engineering Union to form the Automotive Food Metals and Engineering Union.

The Food Preservers' Union of Australia has a history dating back to around 1898 with a union of jam, sauce and pickle works employees and was registered federally in 1911 as the Jam Sauce Pickle and Food Preserving Employees' Union of Australia. Its name was changed in 1916 to the Amalgamated Food Preserving Employees' Union of Australia and in 1929 the union registered itself as the Food Preservers' Union of Australia. In 1992, the union amalgamated with the Confectionery Workers' Union to become the Food Preservers' Division of the Confectionery Workers' and Food Preservers Union of Australia.

TAFETA was formed in about 1974 from the Technical and Further Education Teachers' Association of Australia and the Technical Teachers' Association of Australia. It amalgamated with the Australian Teachers' Federation in 1980.

The Port Adelaide Working Men’s Association was established in 1872 to protect the interests of wharf labourers. It assisted members obtain a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work, maintained order and decorum among its members and raised a benefit fund through entrance fees, subscriptions and fines. The Port Adelaide Working Men’s Association joined the Waterside Workers’ Federation in 1915.

Founded in 1872 and registered under the New South Wales Trade Union Act (1881), 10 January 1883, the Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union almost ceased to exist in the years following the 1890 Maritime Strike. It was revived by State MLA William Morris Hughes (Prime Minister of Australia, 1915-1923), whose electorate covered the waterfront from Darling Harbour to Balmain. In 1899 Hughes became Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union Secretary. Following Federation it was believed that the state and port-based unions would have common concerns that could be more adequately addressed by a federal body. The Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union was eventually absorbed into the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia; Hughes remained Secretary until 1916.

The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers was originally founded as the Australasian Institution of Marine Engineers in January 1881. The impetus to form the association came from the Sydney Association of Marine Engineers, established in June 1880. Branches were formed in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Dunedin, Wellington, Auckland, and later Brisbane and Newcastle. The Institute was federally registered as the Australasian Institute of Marine Engineers (Employees) in June 1906, and in 1922 amended its name to the Australasian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers to encourage the membership of hydraulic and electrical engineers. In 1924, the New Zealand Branch gained autonomy from the main body, and the Institute then renamed itself the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (Employees). From December 1967 'employees' was dropped from the title and the Institute has since operated as the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers.

The Association began in 1954 in Melbourne, Victoria as the Second Division Officers Association. The Association changed its name to the Australian Government Senior Executives Association in November 1984 and in the following years made attempts to obtain federal registration as a trade union association but failed. In this period the membership of the ACT Branch dissolved and the AGSEA continued in Victoria until 30 November 1992 when it was wound up.

The NSW Master Printers and Connected Trades Association was formed in 1902 out of the Sydney Master Printers Association, and became the Printing and Allied Trades Employers' Association, New South Wales Branch in 1925.

The union was formed by the amalgamation of the Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union of Australia and the Amalgamated Metal Workers' & Shipwrights' Union in 1983. In 1985 the union changed its name to the Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union.