The Senate Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers Hope is not a strategy – our shared responsibility for the future of work and workers September 2018 © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 ISBN 978-1-76010-812-0 (Printed Version) ISBN 978-1-76010-812-0 (HTML Version) This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. Members Chair Senator Murray Watt ALP, QLD Deputy Chair Senator Rex Patrick CA, SA (from 12 February 2018, Deputy Chair from 20 February 2018) Members Senator Anthony Chisholm ALP, QLD Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald LP, QLD Senator Jordon Steele-John AG, WA Senator Amanda Stoker LP, QLD Substitute Members Senator David Fawcett LP, SA (for Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald on 14 May 2018) Participating Members Senator Rachel Siewert AG, WA Senator Louise Pratt ALP, WA Former Members Senator Lucy Gichuhi LP, SA (Deputy Chair from 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018) Senator Linda Reynolds LP, WA (from 16 November 2017 to 22 March 2018) iii Secretariat Mr Stephen Palethorpe, Secretary Ms Natasha Rusjakovski, Principal Research Officer Ms Kate Campbell, Senior Research Officer Ms Anna Dunkley, Senior Research Officer Ms Ariane Lloyd-Pitty, Senior Research Officer Mr Matthew Hughes, Research Officer Ms Jade Monaghan, Administrative Officer Committee web page: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Future_of_ Work_and_Workers PO Box 6100 Ph: 02 6277 3521 Parliament House Fax: 02 6277 5706 Canberra ACT 2600 E-mail: [email protected] iv Table of Contents Members ............................................................................................................................................. iii Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ vii Foreword .............................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1—Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Conduct of the inquiry ........................................................................................................................ 1 Structure of this report .................................................................................................. 2 Note on references ......................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2—How is work changing? ................................................................................................ 3 Industrial composition of employment ...................................................................... 3 Ageing population ......................................................................................................... 6 Gender inequality and the role of women in the future of work ......................... 11 Young workers ............................................................................................................. 14 First Nations Australians ............................................................................................ 19 Workers with a migrant background ....................................................................... 22 Workers with disabilities ............................................................................................ 25 Workers in rural and regional locations ................................................................... 27 Flexible work practices ............................................................................................... 27 Committee view ........................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3—The impact of technology on work .......................................................................... 31 Automation anxiety ..................................................................................................... 32 Defining the issue ........................................................................................................ 35 What automation at work looks like ......................................................................... 39 Planning for the future of work ................................................................................. 51 Coordinating a strategy .............................................................................................. 52 Committee view ........................................................................................................... 55 Chapter 4—Modernising workplace laws .................................................................................... 59 Australia's workplace relations framework ............................................................. 60 v The labour market and inequality ............................................................................. 61 Unemployment and under-utilisation of workers .................................................. 64 Non-standard employment ........................................................................................ 65 Reducing workers' bargaining position .................................................................. 85 Committee view ........................................................................................................... 89 Chapter 5—Knowledge and skills ................................................................................................. 95 Equipping people with the right knowledge and skills ......................................... 95 Higher education ......................................................................................................... 96 The importance of Vocational Education and Training ....................................... 106 STEM skills ................................................................................................................. 114 Learning across the life-course ................................................................................ 116 Committee view ......................................................................................................... 119 Chapter 6—Our social security system ....................................................................................... 123 Job availability ........................................................................................................... 123 Poverty in Australia .................................................................................................. 125 Australia's social security system ............................................................................ 125 Newstart Allowance .................................................................................................. 126 Sporadic employment and social security ............................................................. 131 Social security and independent contracting......................................................... 132 Evidence for and against a universal basic income .............................................. 132 Superannuation ......................................................................................................... 135 Committee view ......................................................................................................... 139 Liberal National Senators' Dissenting Report: A missed opportunity ................................. 141 Australian Greens Senators' Additional Comments ................................................................ 145 Appendix 1—Submissions and Additional Information ........................................................ 149 Appendix 2—Public Hearings ...................................................................................................... 157 vi Recommendations Recommendation 1 3.101 The committee recommends that the Australian Government prepare and commit to a long-term plan to prepare Australian workers, business and the economy for coming technological change. Recommendation 2 3.102 The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a central body, within government, to coordinate planning for the future of work. This body would have overall responsibility for coordinating analysis, forecasting and policy development, and informing the Australian public, as set out in this report. Recommendation 3 3.103 The committee recommends that the central body described in Recommendation 2 be required to develop policies for ensuring a positive future of work for specific demographics of at-risk workers identified in Chapter 2 of this report. Recommendation 4 3.104 The committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce stronger legislative requirements for employers to consult with workers and trade unions before and during the introduction of major technological and other change in the workplace. Recommendation 5 3.105 The committee recommends that the Australian Government should position Australia as a leader in the development and ethics of artificial intelligence, and in other emerging fields. Recommendation 6 4.125 The committee recommends that Australia’s