Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association

The ATAEA represented employees in a diverse range of non-performing occupations in the entertainment industry. These included film projectionists, ushers, ticket sellers, film crew, stagehands, racecourse, sports ground and amusement park staff.[1]

While a state-based union may have existed in Victoria during the late 19th century, the union first achieved federal registration in 1910 as the Australian Federated Stage Employees' Association.[2] The union underwent several name changes before finally settling on its final title in 1915.[2] The ATAEA originally only represented stagehands, but over time, and with technological change, it widened its membership base to cover much of the entertainment industry in Australia.[1]

Due to the difficulties of servicing a widely-spread membership, and following ACTU policy of the time, the ATAEA began seeking an amalgamation of unions representing the entertainment and media industry in Australia during the early 1990s.[1] This decision, however, along with political and generational differences, caused division between the national office of the union and the Queensland branch.[1] This animosity developed until the Queensland branch split away from the federal union in 1991, and later merged with the Australian Workers' Union in Queensland.[1] The rest of the union merged with the Australian Journalists' Association and Actors' Equity in 1993 to form the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).[2] The ATAEA continues to exist as a distinct section within the MEAA, and had 3045 members as of 2011.[3]

• alliance.org.au The website of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the successor to the ATAEA.