The National Tertiary Education Industry Union [NTEU] was formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of five tertiary education unions: the Federated Australian University Staff Association [FAUSA], which represented mainly academic staff in the traditional university sector; the Union of Australian College Academics [UACA], which represented mainly academic staff in the Colleges of Advanced Education, following that membership base into the university sector as institutions amalgamated or changed their status; the Australian Colleges and Universities Staff Association [ACUSA], which represented general staff in higher education, TAFE, Adult Education and student unions, mainly in Victoria; the University of Adelaide General Staff Association [UAGSA], which represented general staff at the University of Adelaide; and the Australian National University Administrative and Allied Officers' Association [ANUAAOA] which represented middle-level and senior administrative staff at the ANU.

These organisations all saw benefits in forming a single, stronger union for the whole tertiary education industry. The NTEU provided a united voice for tertiary education workers, without the old, arbitrary divisions between different parts of the industry or different categories of workers. The amalgamation was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of members of each of the five unions.