Reviving Australia’s system of enterprise bargaining

Abstract

This article deals with the development of enterprise bargaining in Australia and considers whether the goals set out in 1992 by the then Prime Minister, Paul Keating, have been realised. The article focuses in particular on the evolution of the no disadvantage test and the better off overall test, in terms of both the statutory provisions themselves and how they have been applied in practice. The article describes the decline of enterprise bargaining in recent years, from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective, and the failure to achieve the goals set out by Mr Keating. The article concludes with a number of proposed legislative changes designed to revive enterprise bargaining in Australia.