Australian Labour Law Essay

I INTRODUCTION

Labour law in Australia has evolved from the traditional system of compulsory arbitration into a system of federal legislated minimum employment standards aimed at providing a ‘safety net’ to protect the vulnerable employees in our society.

Governments have implemented various mechanisms to protect the weak and redress the imbalance of power to ensure employees voices are heard within workplace relationships. The radical political changes under the Howard Government created perhaps the most revolutionary alteration to Australian industrial relations attacking tradition ideals of compulsory arbitration. The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth)(‘WC’) legislation reduced the commissions power through fixing legislative minimum standards and reduction of awards, which propelled Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA’s) as the dominant instrument of agreement.

Australia’s current system under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)(‘FWA’) provides a return to collectivist principles that historically underpinned the traditional Australian system. The current protections in the form of the safety

In the Australian traditional system, the industrial tribunals decisions prescribed the minimum conditions for employees by creating awards with financial consequences to those who failed to abide by these determinations.

Tribunal awards provided the initial form of safety net in Australia by creating minimum standards of employment for those unable to adequately negotiate terms and conditions of employment. A range of variables may have impacted an individual’s ability to negotiate to their advantage including lack of education, nature of work, unfamiliarity with the English language and