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The Australian Fair Pay Commission: Rationale, Operation, Antecedents and Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Peter Waring ,
Alex de Ruyter  and
John Burgess
Peter Waring
Affiliation:
Employment Studies Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia
Alex de Ruyter
Affiliation:
Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
John Burgess
Affiliation:
Employment Studies Centre, University of Newcastle, Australia
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Abstract

The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) is the latest institution to be created by the Federal government in the industrial relations arena and is one of the key pillars of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) No. 153. In this article we examine the rationale for the establishment of the AFPC, outline the structure and operational details associated with the AFPC and compare it with the UK Low Pay Commission. The creation of the AFPC presumes some failings of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission with respect to its safety net wage case deliberations. We attempt to identify what these failings were. Finally, we consider what the implications of the creation of the AFPC will be. On this point the establishment of the AFPC must be placed in a context of ongoing legislative change to welfare access and in the other major developments in the Work Choices legislation, especially the creation of the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.

Type
Work Choices: A Critical Analysis
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 16 , Issue 2: Work Choices: A Critical Analysis , May 2006 , pp. 127 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2006

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