Law, Politics and Ideology: The Regulatory Response to Trade Union Corruption in Australia

Abstract

Corruption has emerged as a significant problem within Australian trade unions over the last decade. It came to public prominence from 2011, with the emergence of details of corrupt conduct by senior officials of the Health Services Union. The then Labor Government responded with legislative amendments in 2012 to strengthen the financial management and disclosure obligations applicable to union office-holders. After considering those developments, this article focuses more closely on the Coalition Government's regulatory response to union corruption, including its policy commitments for the 2013 election, the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (2014-15), the Fair Work Registered Organisations Amendment Act 2016 (Cth) and the further reforms to union regulation that the Government now seeks to implement. The article seeks to establish the extent of the problem which these various measures are intended to address, and to determine whether they are simply part of an 'ideological attack' on trade unions. It is concluded that although ideological motives cannot be discounted, the holding of the Royal Commission and the resulting legislative initiatives of the Coalition Government have for the most part been necessary to increase standards of governance and accountability within Australia's unions.