The Police Federation of Australia (PFA) is a peak police union body that represents the interests of Australian police officers.
It was formerly registered under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 on 1 January 1998. The Canberra office was opened by John Howard, the then Prime Minister of Australia, on Tuesday, 16 September 2003.
The members of each State, Territory and Federal Police Association/Union are members of the Police Federation of Australia, and the organisation was affiliated with the ACTU. The role of the PFA is to protect and promote the workings and interests of those police officers, should any requirement be needed for their representation. This is enacted by being the "National Voice of Policing." As of December 2018, the PFA represented over 63,000 members nationally, which gives it the greatest density level of membership of any union organisation within Australia.
In 2005 the Police Federation of Australia supported the fears of the Australian Federal Police Association (AFPA), regarding industrial relations laws relating to Australian Workplace Agreements saying the laws could erode the integrity of police officers. The concerns were rejected by a spokesman for Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews, saying state police would remain in the state systems, and that AFP staff would continue to be governed by their certified agreement.
Office Bearers
President – Kevin Morton (PANSW), Vice President – Alex Caruana (AFPA), Vice President – Nathan Finn (NTPA), Treasurer – Wade Burns (PASA), Chief Executive Officer – Scott Weber. Prior to being properly formed as the Federation, the Australian Federal Police Association was the only registered police union federally in Australia at the time. The association came into effect as a result of restructuring of Commonwealth law enforcement along with the creation of the Australian Federal Police. The Association's national executive committee agreed upon the idea of a national law enforcement union in 1986 as a sole trade union. Through much deliberation and after numerous meetings and countless objections, by state governments and individual police commissioners, the final phase in the formation was the formal change from association to federation. In April 1997, the associations council unanimously agreed that the union change its name to the Police Federation of Australia. This is combined with a much greater depth and width of interaction with officers. The merger occurred at the time of the national labour movement within Australia, highlighting the political climate at the time of the merger. Police unionists in Australia insist, however, that their institutions be run by police officers rather than trade union professionals.
Importance of the Union
thumb|281x281px|New South Wales Police Officers in action conducting a vehicle search for illegal drugs.
The importance of the Police Federation of Australia is held at a high regard for its members and other members of the community. The importance of the union, particularly for those who are in the law enforcement sectors of society such as police, is paramount for their survival. In the case of redundancies for example, or other incidents that may implicate an officers job or livelihood, the use of the union will be necessary in defending those members and employees, should they need the services of the union. Due to their 24/7 nature, police officers in Australia have been expected to deal with persons presenting with symptoms of mental health disorders within the community. The complexity of these issues has generated a stretch in police resources. Furthermore, this involvement by police with mental health in the community extends to further boundaries. There is evidence to suggest that officers spend substantial amounts of time across numerous hospitals in the emergency departments in so-called caretaker mode. This effect upon police to wait is due to having to wait for these persons of interest to be properly admitted to a health specialist who can gauged whether they are to be experiencing mental illness or a mental health crisis. An important aspect of the measures taken was to stop people from gathering in public places. Most notably, it was prevalent at many of the beaches in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and Northern Beaches of Sydney. The Chief Executive Officer of the PFA, Scott Weber, highlighted that the situation in the community was "a moving feast every day".