Abstract Evidence that gender-based pay inequity is higher when pay is secret has led governments to prohibit pay secrecy clauses and give employees the right to discuss and disclose their pay. However, the effectiveness of regulations prohibiting pay secrecy may be constrained by social and organisational norms that preclude discussion of pay, including employee fears of the implications of pay transparency. This article provides insights from interviews with 32 employees and managers from a large Australian financial services company, revealing that perceptions of pay transparency are shaped by organisational rules, social norms, trust in the employing organisation, and fear of the repercussions of knowing pay is unequal. The implications for the effectiveness of the pay transparency measures in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (Cth) are discussed.
Abstract The international education sector is Australia’s largest service-based export industry, making a significant contribution to our economy. International students also provide valuable labour during their stay in Australia and many become skilled migrants post-graduation. However, the current student visa conditions that limit international students’ capacity to undertake work are also inhibiting their successful transition into graduate employment and their ability to secure permanent residency. They are required to navigate contradictions between the restriction on the number of hours of work they can undertake as an international student, and pathways to permanent residency, which are linked to the performance of work, following graduation. As a consequence, international students may be incentivised to breach their visa conditions and accept low skilled and poorly paid work after graduation. These incentivised choices contribute to poor employment outcomes for international student graduates, which risks undermining the international education industry. This article explores the nexus between work and education for international students studying in Australia, and the consequences of contradictory approaches to work in the student and residency visa schemes. It contends that addressing these factors would go some way to enabling international student graduates to secure work commensurate with their education and skill level, which would benefit international students, the higher education sector and the economy at large.
Abstract Royal commissions are the most prestigious form of Australian public enquiry with important investigative, fact-finding, policy-making and truth-telling functions. It is no coincidence that Australia has had three royal commissions in the last five years into the care and support sector. This ground-breaking article is the first to compare the final reports of the Victorian Mental Health and Commonwealth Aged Care and Disability Royal Commissions to analyse the systemic problems in each sector and the recommended reforms. It provides a useful overview of each commission and how the three reports intersect with each other. The article identifies seven interconnected themes which recur across the three commissions: (i) difficulty accessing services and supports; (ii) a lack of choice and control; (iii) negative social attitudes and discrimination; (iv) the overuse of restrictive practices; (v) an undertrained and underpaid workforce; (vi) problems with oversight and complaints processes; and (vii) chronic under-funding. It also sets out the different approaches to reform in each report which should arguably be adopted across all three sectors. Finally, it provides an update about government implementation of each report. Given the dire state of the care and support sector, the problems highlighted by the seven themes require urgent attention.
This article considers international standards of indigenous self-determination and self-governance rights exercised through establishment of indigenous representative institutions. In doing so, this article examines necessary processes of engagement a State should implement, that includes Indigenous people in the design, development, and maintenance of their own representative institutions so that they can function effectively. This article also considers how national indigenous representative institutions have been established and maintained in Australia and Canada given both chosen jurisdictions share similar colonial experiences yet have different formal legislative arrangements in place for Indigenous institutional representation at a national level. It then considers how, given their differing circumstances, those institutions in each jurisdiction work effectively and in partnership with the State. Ultimately, this article canvasses both the advances and limitations that Indigenous peoples of Australia and Canada have experienced with seeking to legislatively implement internationally recognised Indigenous rights within their State’s legal system. In doing so, this article seeks to highlight the lessons that can be learned from both jurisdictions’ experiences and emphasise the importance of achieving better outcomes for Indigenous peoples through a state’s implementation and support of self-governance and self-determination rights.
This article examines the adoption of voting methods designed to support individuals with intellectual disabilities in elections. It focuses on two widely used approaches, frequently explored in scholarly discourse: assisted voting and proxy voting. Both of these voting methods rely on third-party involvement and therefore require the consideration of the prohibition of plural voting in the Australian Constitution. The article concludes that while assisted voting and a limited form of proxy voting-where the proxy must strictly follow the elector’s explicit instructions-are constitutional, proxy voting becomes unconstitutional if the elector is unable to communicate their electoral judgment. Assisted voting therefore emerges as the most practical and constitutionally compliant option.
