Australia’s FWC rules not to stop Ichthys LNG strike

Inpex said on June 9 that it had filed an application to the Fair Work Commission under Section 424 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

FWC’s website states that Section 424 requires it to “suspend or terminate protected industrial action if it threatens the life, health, safety, or welfare of the population, or causes significant damage to the Australian economy.”

“Inpex acknowledges the Fair Work Commission’s ruling today not to terminate protected industrial action at the Ichthys LNG facilities,” Inpex senior vice president corporate, Bill Townsend, told LNG Prime in emailed comments on Sunday.

“This is a disappointing outcome, but the Fair Work Commission and the unions are now on notice of the potential ramifications of the planned industrial action,” he said.

“We confirm protected industrial action has been notified to continue at Ichthys LNG to 23 June 2026 and we are planning accordingly to mitigate impacts while maintaining safe and stable operations,” Townsend said.

The Offshore Alliance, which includes the Maritime Union of Australia and Australian Workers’ Union, said on June 2 that “protected industrial action ramps up today on all three Inpex facilities with stoppages of work and work bans.”

The combined Inpex unions have 426 financial members across the Inpex facilities, according to the Offshore Alliance.

After failing to reach a new enterprise agreement as part of the bargaining process, the Offshore Alliance said in a social media post last Monday that its members are ramping up the four-hour stoppages and bans to eight hours per day

Updated offer

Townsend said that Inpex continues to “actively engage in enterprise agreement negotiations in good faith, having shared a range of agreement options – all of which result in improvements to overall terms and conditions and the opportunity for substantial pay increases.”

“An updated offer is being/has been prepared, following continued interest-based bargaining,” he said.

“Reaching an equitable and sustainable agreement with employees is a priority. At the same time, we are committed to maintaining safe operations at Ichthys LNG and to ensuring a reliable energy supply amid ongoing global market disruption,” Townsend said-

Last year, Ichthys LNG accounted for 8 percent of both Japan and Taiwan’s respective LNG import volumes, delivered via long-term sales and purchase agreements, according to Inpex.

The facility shipped 112 LNG cargoes in 2025. It shipped 43 LNG cargoes in the first four months of this year, up by two shipments compared to the year before.

Ichthys LNG is a joint venture between operator Inpex and major partner TotalEnergies.

In 2024, Inpex also purchased a small stake in Ichthys LNG from compatriot Tokyo Gas to boost its stake from 66.245 percent to 67.82 percent.

Besides TotalEnergies, other partners in the Ichthys project include Australian units of CPC, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, Jera, and Toho Gas.

Natural gas arrives to the LNG plant at Bladin Point, near Darwin, from the giant Ichthys field offshore Western Australia via an 890-kilometer-long export pipeline.