The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and labour councils. The ACTU is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation.
Australian labour law sets the rights of working people, the role of trade unions, and democracy at work, and the duties of employers, across the Commonwealth and in states. Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the Fair Work Commission creates a national minimum wage and oversees National Employment Standards for fair hours, holidays, parental leave and job security. The FWC also creates modern awards that apply to most sectors of work, numbering 150 in 2024, with minimum pay scales, and better rights for overtime, holidays, paid leave, and superannuation for a pension in retirement. Beyond this floor of rights, trade unions and employers often create enterprise bargaining agreements for better wages and conditions in their workplaces. In 2024, collective agreements covered 15% of employees, while 22% of employees were classified as "casual", meaning that they lose many protections other workers have. Australia's laws on the right to take collective action are among the most restrictive in the developed world, and Australia does not have a general law protecting workers' rights to vote and elect worker directors on corporation boards as do most other wealthy OECD countries.
The Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, or informally the Cole Royal Commission, was a Royal Commission established by the Australian government to inquire into and report upon alleged misconduct in the building and construction industry in Australia. The establishment of the Commission followed various unsuccessful attempts by the Federal Government to impose greater regulation upon the conduct of industrial relations in that industry.
WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard government in 2005, being amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, sometimes referred to as the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, that came into effect on 27 March 2006.
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of interpreting and enforcing awards and hearing other criminal and civil cases relating to industrial relations law.
The Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard was a set of five minimum statutory entitlements for wages and conditions introduced as part of the Howard government's WorkChoices amendments to Australian labour law in 2006 and then abolished by the Fair Work Act 2009 in 2010.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is a department of the Australian Government with broad-ranging responsibilities; notably, intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the prime minister of Australia in managing the Federal Cabinet. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.
The Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales conciliates and arbitrates industrial disputes, sets conditions of employment and fixes wages and salaries by making industrial awards, approves enterprise agreements and decides other industrial matters in New South Wales, a state of Australia. The Commission was established with effect from 2 September 1996 pursuant to the Industrial Relations Act 1996.
The Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission, as constituted under the Industrial Relations Act 1979, conciliates and arbitrates industrial disputes, sets conditions of employment and fixes wages and salaries by making industrial awards, approves enterprise agreements and decides claims of unfair dismissal in the State of Western Australia, with respect to those employers not regulated by the Commonwealth of Australia under the Fair Work Act 2009.
Jeff Lawrence is an Australian trade unionist who was the Secretary of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LMHU). Lawrence was Secretary of the LHMU, one of Australia's biggest unions, from 1990 to 2007.
The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations is a position currently held by Murray Watt in the Albanese ministry since July 2024.
The Fair Work Ombudsman(FWO) (or formally, the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman), is an independent statutory agency of the Government of Australia that serves as the central point of contact for free advice and information on the Australian national workplace relations system. The Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman also investigates workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws.
Adam Searle is an Australian barrister and Labor Party politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from May 2011 until March 2023. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council of New South Wales between April 2015 and June 2021. He was the opposition spokesman and Shadow Minister for Industry, Resources & Energy and Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations.
Fair Work Building & Construction (FWBC), or more formally the Office of the Fair Work Building Industry Inspectorate was an Government of Australia agency established by the Fair Work Act 2012. FWBC commenced operations on 1 June 2012, replacing its predecessor, the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner. FWBC was replaced by the Australian Building and Construction Commission on 2 December 2016. FWBC was responsible for enforcing industrial relations laws in Australia’s building and construction industry through the provision of education, assistance and advice.
The Fair Work Act 2009(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. Replacing the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation, the Act established Fair Work Australia, later renamed the Fair Work Commission.
The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) was an independent, statutory authority of the Australian Government, responsible for promoting understanding and enforcing workplace relations compliance in the Australian building and construction industry. The ABCC was established under the Building and Construction Industry Act 2016 (Cth).
Alexander Nicholas John Blain is an economist, specialising in industrial relations. He served as: a Presidential Member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; Chief Adviser to Western Australia's Labour Relations Minister, The Hon. Graham Kierath MLA, in Premier Richard Court's Liberal-National Government; and Head of Department of Industrial Relations at The University of Western Australia.
Marian Pam Baird is an Australian academic researcher, Professor of Gender and Employment Relations and Head of the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney, and a member of the Australian Fair Work Commission. She is also Foundation Director, Women and Work Research Group. Her research focuses on all aspects of women in the workforce over their lifespan.
Kerri Gaye Hartland is the Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). She was formerly an Australian public servant for 30 years, before joining the private sector. She was the first female deputy director-general of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and took up the position of secretary of the Australian Government Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business in January 2017.
Adam Hatcher is an Australian jurist and former barrister who has served as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and President of the Australian Fair Work Commission since 19 February 2023. He previously served as the Fair Work Commission's vice-president from 2013 to 2023.
