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Unfair Dismissal Law and Work Choices: From Safety Net Standard to Legal Privilege

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Anna Chapman
Anna Chapman*
Affiliation:
Law School, University of Melbourne, member of the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law, University of Melbourne
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Abstract

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This article examines the amendments made to the Australian system of unfair dismissal law by the federal Work Choices Act. The main theme underlying those changes is one of contraction. Notably, a much larger proportion of the Australian labour force will now not have recourse to challenge their dismissal on the basis that it was “harsh, unjust or unreasonable”. This is the effect of the Work Choices exemption of corporate employers with up to 100 employees, the operational reasons exemption, the exemption of seasonal workers and the extension of the qualifying period from three to six months. It is also the effect of moving towards a national system of unfair dismissal.

Type
Work Choices: A Critical Analysis
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 16 , Issue 2: Work Choices: A Critical Analysis , May 2006 , pp. 237 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2006

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