Mandate, Discretion and Professionalisation in an Employment Standards Enforcement Agency: An Antipodean Experience
Law & Policy, Vol. 35, No. 1-2, 2013
48 Pages Posted: 16 Dec 2013
Date Written: December 15, 2013
Abstract
In recent years there has been a resurgence of scholarly interest in the operation and effect of labour inspectorates around the world. This article aims to contribute to this mounting comparative and socio-legal literature by considering the emergence of an active and high profile enforcement agency in Australia – the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). Drawing on the experiences of inspectors and senior managers at the FWO, we examine the structure and mandate of the agency, as well as the discretion afforded to, and the professionalisation of, individual inspectors. While some have sought to draw a distinction between a rule-bound, specialised approach characteristic of certain “Anglo-American” countries and the so-called “Franco-Iberian” model, which places a greater emphasis on flexibility and pragmatism, we found that the FWO does not necessarily fit neatly within this dichotomy. Rather, we observe that as the FWO is a new institution, its mode of operation is in the process of evolution. At present it is pluralistic, in the sense that it exhibits a hierarchical, procedural approach in a drive to address concerns of consistency and accountability, while at the same time allowing, and sometimes encouraging, individuals to be experimental and adaptive.
Keywords: regulatory enforcement, employment standards, labour inspection, relational regulation
JEL Classification: K00, K31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation