Below we provide you with an update on the third bargaining meeting for your new enterprise agreement (EA), which took place last week on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.
Attending for the AFAP were your pilot representatives Gerald Taffs and Tim Urquhart together with Andrew Molnar (AFAP Legal Counsel) and Jason Newell (AFAP Senior Industrial Officer). Toll was represented by James Morley, Eugene Lee, Tom O’Doherty, Issy Kempton and Scott Watkins and Tom Crawford.
Toll presented a proposal to deal with rostering and remuneration. This update summarises the key elements of Toll’s proposal, outlines the initial feedback provided by the AFAP during the meeting, and notes further claims made by the AFAP towards the end of the meeting.
Toll’s Proposal
Toll stated that its proposal is intended to address concerns raised by pilots while maintaining what it describes as a “sustainable operation and business relationship with our clients.” Toll’s focus was firmly on 2 primary areas, rostering and remuneration. Both elements were presented as part of a single operating model, with the company arguing that roster changes and salary structure must be considered together.
At the outset, the AFAP does not consider the proposal in its current form is acceptable. Although elements of the proposal have merit, changes must be made before the AFAP would look favourably on the package.
Rostering
The AFAP had previously provided a 4 on 4 off rostering model for Toll to consider (really a 4 on/grey day/3 off roster). At the last negotiation meeting (#2), Toll indicated this proposal would require additional pilot numbers and that it would not support the AFAP’s proposal. At last week’s meeting, Toll provided further context for its view. According to Toll’s modelling, adopting the AFAP proposal requires additional pilots (3-4 pilots in Victoria and 4 pilots in NSW) to maintain operational coverage. This involves costs that Toll says it is not prepared to accommodate.
Toll instead presented an alternative rostering concept which it says is designed to address issues that have been raised during discussions, in particular the elimination of single days off and improved predictability of roster patterns.
Removal of Single Days Off
A key element of Toll’s proposal is the removal of single days off from the roster, which the company proposes to achieve through the introduction of additional extra rostered days off (ERDOs). This works as follows:
Victoria: Toll currently operates on 21 lines of 2 weeks duration. There are 3 flexible work arrangement (FWA) lines, 2 management lines and 16 rotating roster lines. Currently all lines receive 4 days off/RDOs each fortnight. For the rotating roster lines there are a total of 64 days off/RDOs, with 10 of those days rostered as single days. Toll’s proposal of ERDOs only affects the rotating roster lines and adds 9 ERDOs to ensure no single days on the roster for a total of 73 days off. FWA lines and management lines retain single days off, and do not receive any ERDOs.
NSW B350: The B350 fleet (putting to one side the HOTAC and the FOM) operates on 19 lines of 2 week duration. With all lines receiving 4 days off/RDOs each fortnight, there are a total of 76 days off/RDOs, with 8 of those being single days off. Toll’s proposal adds 6 ERDOs for a total of 84 days off.
NSW PC24: The PC24 fleet (again, putting to one side the HOTAC and the FOM) operates on 11 lines of 2 weeks duration. With all lines receiving 4 days off/RDOs each fortnight, there are a total of 44 days off/RDOs, with 6 of those being single days off. Toll’s proposal adds 6 ERDOs for a total of 50 days off.
Toll then indicated that adding the ERDOs would slightly reduce pilot productivity, estimating pilots would work approximately 95–96% of their current workload across the rotation. In Victoria, the ERDOs required 0.9 more pilots, and in NSW, the ERDOs require 1.4 more pilots.
Although the topic of hours of work was not specifically addressed, Toll’s proposal would involve the ability for shift extensions of up to 2 hours where operationally required, with any hours beyond that being paid extra at an hourly rate. Early start additional hours would also be paid extra at an hourly rate.
Overarching Roster Concepts
Toll’s proposal does not write the actual roster pattern into the EA, to allow operational flexibility where required. Instead there would be broad principles. These included:
- minimisation, if not elimination of single days off;
- roster changes with seven days’ notice following consultation; and
- individual shift changes with 48 hours’ notice or less by agreement.
Although the AFAP would need to see further detail on how those principles would operate in practice, on its face, the AFAP does not support that level of flexibility being imposed on pilots.
Initial AFAP Feedback on Toll’s Rostering Proposal
During the meeting, we provided the following initial feedback on the proposal.
We acknowledged the connection Toll is attempting to make between roster design and operational requirements.
However, we made it clear that if pilots are expected to operate under Toll’s proposed roster structure, the remuneration attached to that roster must be appropriate.
In simple terms, roster model may work (with some modification), but only if the money is right.
We also reminded Toll that Gerald was willing to sit down with rostering to further discuss the AFAP proposal of 4 on 4 off. The purpose of this work being undertaken is to properly understand why Toll considers extra pilots would be necessary, or conversely, be able to say why Toll is wrong. That offer continues.
The removal of single days off combined with additional days off in the roster cycle is of course a clear improvement. Pilots have consistently raised concerns about fragmented rest periods, and this aspect of the proposal goes some way toward addressing that issue.
However, a significant issue is afternoon shifts running directly into a day off. This runs the danger of reducing any benefit from the day off. It would be preferable to insert a grey day between the afternoon shift preceding days off and the actual days off.
In short, the AFAP’s initial feedback was:
- Gerald and rostering should discuss the AFAP 4 on 4 off proposal further;
- Toll’s proposal had benefits could potentially be modified into a system that would be accepted by the pilots; and
- the roster in its current form would not be supported.
Remuneration
Toll also presented a revised salary structure which it described as moving toward a “salaried style” model, where most hours are bundled into an annual salary with a composite hourly rate used for additional work. Toll also indicated it intends to streamline the current pay scales and equalise rates across NSW and Victoria, and that it wants to move away from the current 15 tier increments.
Bundling together base, ADFA (for NSW), Toll Supplement (for VIC) and type (for VIC) payments, the proposed base rate for both NSW and VIC is:
- for Year 1 - base rate of 170,000/hourly rate of 86.03
- for Year 3 - base rate of 175,000/hourly rate of 88.56
- for Year 5 - base rate of 180,000/hourly rate of 91.09
- for Year 7 - a base rate of 190,000/hourly rate of 96.15
- for Year 10+ - base rate of 195,000/hourly rate of 98.68
Unfortunately, Toll viewed that the retention payments to Victorian pilots have “artificially inflated salaries.” Although this was done deliberately to address retention, Toll’s goal now is to align NSW and Victorian salaries. This has resulted in what would be a reduction for Victorian pilots (and a minimal increase for NSW pilots).
Allowances for iPad, phone, training, and training and checking were proposed as (for both NSW and Victoria):
- iPad - 282
- Phone - 791
- Training - 16,500
- Training and Checking - 25,000
Toll confirmed that other allowances (such as travel, meals, late night operations and other incidentals) would be treated in addition to the above.
Initial AFAP Feedback on Toll’s Remuneration Proposal
The AFAP’s feedback on the salary proposal was clear:
- first, the proposal appears to move backwards, which is not a good starting point for negotiations; and
- second, progression through the pay increments is far too slow, pilots would take too long to move through the salary structure.
- third, the base salary is not high enough, particularly when considered alongside the roster model being proposed.
While we noted that the structure itself has merit, particularly the idea of consolidating pay components into base salary, the numbers themselves are not currently acceptable.
Additional Items raised by the AFAP
During the meeting we also raised additional claims on behalf of pilots:
Seniority: the AFAP proposed establishing seniority arrangements for the PC-24 fleet, including the creation of a combined seniority list across the pilot group.
Headsets: the AFAP raised the issue of headset costs, proposing that Toll provide financial assistance for headset purchase or maintenance. This could include reimbursement or an allowance supporting refurbishment over time.
Jeppesen: while pilots are being provided with Airservices charts, using Jeppesen systems was still required. The cost of access to Jeppesen systems should be recognised by Toll. Although Toll provides CBT, it is not sufficient, and appropriate access to Jeppesen systems should be provided.
Next Steps
The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Melbourne on Thursday, 26 March 2026. For this meeting, the AFAP has undertaken to develop and present a formal pay proposal to respond to Toll’s remuneration framework. The AFAP will also commence drafting items for the new EA. Finally, Gerald will spend time working with operations to examine the AFAP 4 on 4 off rostering model.
We will continue to keep members informed as negotiations progress.
If you have questions, feedback , or with to raise additional matters for the AFAP bargaining team, please contact one of your pilots representatives, Gerald Taffs and Tim Urquhart, or AFAP Legal Counsel Andrew Molnar (andrew@afap.org.au) or AFAP Senior Industrial Officer Jason Newell (jason@afap.org.au). Alternatively, please call the AFAP on (03) 9928 5737.
Your AFAP Bargaining Team