Over the last twenty years there have been four major revisions of the legislation governing the federal workplace relations system. The last was the Fair Work Act 2009. The current review of the operation of that Act is expected to lead to proposals for further change.

This lecture will examine these proposals against the background of the existing system, its history and the expectations of the major interest groups. It will identify other major issues which remain to be tackled and make observations about the policy formulation process.

Foenander Lecture 2012