The Constitution and Workplace Relations Act 1996

Abstract

The Howard Government’s industrial relations reforms represent a significant step towards a uniform system of workplace regulations. To achieve this, the Commonwealth Parliament has expressly attempted to place much of the new regime within the scope of the Commonwealth’s corporations power. This article will trace the High Court’s development of the jurisprudence related to that power and argue that the central tenets of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) accords with the contemporary direction of the power.