Players from non-Victorian clubs have convened in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth and will participate in the meeting via live video link.
The leadership of the association is hopeful the meeting, which it has described as historic and landmark, will also provide it with the consensus view of its members on the way forward in negotiations with the AFL on a new CBA.
The meeting was scheduled shortly before the June 30 deadline for a new CBA after talks between the two parties failed to produce a resolution.
The main sticking point in negotiations, which began in earnest following the five-year, $1.25 billion broadcast rights deal struck by the AFL in April, has been the AFLPA's desire to secure a share - 25 to 27 per cent - of the AFL's total revenue, which the League has baulked at.
Players began arriving at the venue from 7pm with AFLPA vice-president Luke Ball stopping to address the gathered media.
"It's an information session," Ball said in reply to a question whether possible strike action was on the agenda.
"It's about giving our members the right to understand and participate in the negotiations that are going on at the moment.
"I don't think [anything will be voted on]. It's about getting everyone up to date with where things are at. We want to get a gauge on the course that the majority of members want us to take.
"The number of players that turned up tonight will show that we're united as a playing group - more so than we ever have been in the past."
Before entering the Perth meeting, West Coast defender Beau Waters said the players were united and looking to deal maturely with the AFL.
"We're very serious about this and we're looking after our future and the future of the game," he said.
"We believe we're a major contributor to where the game is today and hopefully the AFL are compliant."
Players took to social media platform Twitter in a show of solidarity in the 24 hours leading up to the meeting with the hashtag '#weareunited' trending across Melbourne late in the afternoon.
AFLPA president Luke Power opened the meeting with an address to the players with chief executive Matt Finnis and past-player representative Simon Madden also delivering speeches.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou had offered to address the meeting, but the association preferred not to have a League representative in attendance.
Finnis, Power and Ball are scheduled to address the media after the meeting, which is expected to last about 90 minutes.
