An attempted bid by the federal police union to poach thousands of Australian Border Force staff from the leading public sector union has been thwarted.
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Australian Federal Police Association members were rankled by an unpopular push from some board members to take in Border Force officers, a move members claimed was made without consultation.
AFPA chief executive Dennis Gellatly said the association's decision to abandon the takeover after "strong opposition" from members was welcomed by the Community and Public Sector Union, which covers Border Force employees.
The membership expansion would have added 3000 to 4000 "sworn" Border Force staff and doubled the strength of the police union.
The association's national council in June recommended that the Police Federation of Australia change its eligibility rules to include employees from other Commonwealth law enforcement agencies.
That action prompted disgruntled association members to hold a successful requisition for plebiscite in a bid to stave off the expansion.
They acknowledged the broadened membership base would boost revenue, improve staffing and resources and increase the union's influence in border-related matters.
But members feared including Border Force members would provoke a costly legal challenge from the Community and Public Sector Union, which covers Border Force employees, and could weaken the union's ability to properly represent police.
Mr Gellatly said that plebiscite never went ahead and the union, which represents the Australian Federal Police and ACT Policing, had instead decided to cease any notion to expand its coverage into the Border Force.
He said Border Force employees were federal public servants who dealt with border protection and national security matters and were best covered by the CPSU.
Mr Gellatly said there was no legal basis for the federal police union to cover Border Force employees and the proposed expansion wasn't in the interests of either group's members.
"Our members voiced strong opinions against taking on Border Force members and felt the police association was for police employees," he said.
"We reached out and expressed that to the CPSU and we've agreed to work together in the spaces we're in rather than in some kind of adversarial manner."
Mr Gellatly described the attempted expansion in a statement as "an ill-considered thought bubble by a few individuals which the AFPA had no intention of pursuing".
CPSU president Nadine Flood vowed the "unfortunate" timing of the matter, as Border Force employees faced "a very difficult industrial situation", wouldn't get in the way of the two unions working together in the future.
The failed expansion bid happened as the AFPA welcomed a new president amid struggles with in-fighting and looming enterprise agreement negotiations.
Senior Constable Angela Smith became the union's first female president when she was voted in by a majority of the AFPA's national executive last month.
She replaced former national president Jon Hunt-Sharman, who announced his resignation in November, 18 months before the end of his term.
At the time, Ms Smith played down concerns that were raised about the appointment process, saying it was required under the association's own rules, which complied with federal fair work laws.
Mr Hunt-Sharman, who had been in the position for nearly 20 years, resigned as a Federal Court case continues over some members being sent incorrect ballot papers during an election process.
Ms Smith said Mr Hunt-Sharman's resignation was not linked to the case, which is expected to come before court later this month.
It will look at elections for the association's branch zone co-ordinator and workplace delegates, which were suspended in July after errors were found in the roll of voters and the number of vacancies.
The Australian Electoral Commission was notified after some association members did not receive the correct ballot papers and the elections were suspended.
