Mandate, Discretion, and Professionalisation in an Employment Standards Enforcement Agency: An Antipodean Experience

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 coun..