A relocation clause buried in the fine print decided where these operators have to work
ExxonMobil can require its Altona terminal operators to work at a site seven kilometres away, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
In a decision dated June 17, 2026, the Commission resolved a dispute over where ExxonMobil's Melbourne terminal staff have to work. The ruling is a useful read for any HR or industrial relations team planning a site merger or staff redeployment.
The setup is simple. Mobil Refining Australia, trading as Exxon Mobil, runs the Altona Terminal in Melbourne's west. The Yarraville Terminal, run by Mobil Oil, sits about seven kilometres away. Exxon Mobil wants to fold the two into one operation, the Melbourne Terminal. Under the plan, Altona operators would start their shifts at Yarraville, then work at either site.
The Australian Workers' Union pushed back. It filed a dispute under section 739 of the Fair Work Act - the section that lets the Commission resolve disputes through an agreement's own procedure - arguing the move broke both the enterprise agreement and the operators' contracts.
The parties put two agreed questions to the Commission.
Could Exxon Mobil direct Altona operators to work at Yarraville, or start there? Yes.
The answer hinged on the contracts. The union leaned on 2007 wording that an operator's "initial position will be a Trainee Operator at the Altona Refinery." But the Commission zeroed in on the General Conditions of Employment attached to...
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