This article examines the Australian approach to flexicurity. The focus is on an analysis of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), in force since 1 July 2009. This article demonstrates how the legislature seeks to walk a fine line between economic flexibility for business and social protection for employees. It is argued that, on balance, the incoming Labour government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has chosen to err on the side of caution by favouring flexibility for the sake of protecting an export-driven national economy. In the result, the raison d’être of labour law as employee protection law risks being compromised. It would seem that the demands of a globalized economy and the associated need for national economies to be internationally competitive affect the shape of labour law reform in Australia regardless of the political party in office.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations