The Employment Act: A Modern Blueprint for the Future of Work
EXTRACT:
How Australia regulates work, the focus of the H.R. Nicholls Society since its inception, has rarely been more important, or more in need of fearless, fulsome re-examination. The current regulatory framework, the Fair Work Act 2009 (including but not limited to the recent amendments ushered in by the Federal Government), is failing us.
Modern Awards are nearly impossible to navigate, plagued by issues of compliance; The use of enterprise bargaining—one of the most effective tools for creating productive, prosperous workplaces—has plummeted; Unions continue to gain ever-expanding powers, even as many of them face investigations for alleged criminality and corruption; and nearly all flexibility necessary for 21st Century workplaces has been stripped from the system.
In its 5-year productivity inquiry released in 2023, the Productivity Commission found that in the decade to 2020 - since the Fair Work Act 2009 was introduced - average annual labour productivity growth in Australia was the slowest in 60 years, falling to just 1.1% compared with 1.8% over the 60 years to 2019-2020.