State, Ideology and the Emergence of ‘Good Faith’ Collective Bargaining Regulation in Australia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss the emergence and practice of a ‘good faith’ collective bargaining regime in Australia. The core argument of the article is that while Fair Work Australia – the industrial regulatory agency created by a Labor government under this regime – is attempting to fulfil the role of an ‘umpire’ in reaching decisions on good faith bargaining, the requirement to promote both market and social objectives highlights tensions that are characteristic of ‘third way’ governmentality. Reviewing decisions by Fair Work Australia on good faith bargaining illustrates this argument.