Labour Standards and their Enforcement (LAWS70197)

This subject addresses the relevant provisions of the key federal statute governing minimum employment standards in Australia, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which is the centrepiece of Commonwealth statutory regulation of working conditions. The subject examines the mechanisms by which minimum wages, working hours regulation and leave entitlements are set and reviewed, as well as the function and content of these standards. This subject also addresses the important topic of how compliance with labour standards can be enforced and considers issues such as the role of the Fair Work Ombudsman, and the challenge of enforcement in the context of different business models, such as franchise networks.

Principal topics include:

• The scope of the national system of labour regulation
• The institutions that regulate labour standards and working conditions, including the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman
• The role and content of the National Employment Standards (NES) as a means of maintaining a safety net of fair working conditions
• The form, function and content of modern awards as a mechanism for setting further minimum labour standards at an industry and sectoral level
• The relationship of modern awards and the NES to other means of regulating working conditions, including the contract of employment and enterprise agreements
• The legal mechanisms and sanctions relating to enforcement of minimum labour standards and working conditions by employees, unions and the Fair Work Ombudsman
• The administrative sanctions available to the Fair Work Ombudsman
• Emerging issues and innovative approaches in regulating and enforcing labour standards and working conditions, including protection of vulnerable workers such as interns, casual and part-time workers and outworkers, extra-territorial coverage of labour standards, regulation of work/life balance, and developments in labour standards arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.