The importance of accountability has long been sheeted home to the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), the federal statutory agency responsible for enforcement of minimum employment standards under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). In the immediate aftermath of Work Choices, the activities of...

Since early 2006, the federal labour inspectorate, now known as the Fair Work Ombudsman ('FWO'), has been both active and innovative in promoting and enforcing employment standards. While various enforcement tools are available to the FWO, civil remedy litigation has been an especially visible...

When the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) was first introduced, compliance issues were viewed as somewhat trifling and the enforcement framework generated very little discussion, let alone debate. Early reviews of the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) generally reached positive conclusions about...