The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) is a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and professional association formed in 1981 to represent Qantas and its related companies pilots and flight engineers. The AIPA broke away from the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) in the early 1980s. It was formally registered in 1986. In May 2007 the

Australian Industrial Relations Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powe ...

ruled that the AIPA could cover pilots employed by

Jetstar Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, doing business as, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by the ...

. This means that coverage of Jetstar pilots is shared between the AFAP and the AIPA. The AIPA does not view itself as a trade union, but as a "professional Association and federally registered organisation". In late 2006 it decided to rejoin the

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

References

{{Reflist 1981 establishments in Australia Airline pilots' trade unions Aviation organisations based in Australia Trade unions affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1981 Trade unions in Australia