Strike Ballots and the Law in Australia

Mandatory provision concerning strike ballots was first introduced in Australia in 2006. Since that time the ballot requirement has become an accepted part of the framework of workplace regulation, although there is continuing debate about the form which the requirements ought to take. While the ballot provisions generally operate fairly smoothly, they have enabled employers to delay the taking of industrial action in some instances. As in other jurisdictions, the ballot provisions were ostensibly intended to promote democratic decision-making in relation to industrial action. They are, however, based on false premises, and far from promoting respect for democratic principles, they are in many respects antithetical to them.