Australia was a founding member of the ILO and is also a major budget contributor, notably for projects in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and the Pacific Island countries. The country has ratified 55 ILO Conventions, including seven of the eight fundamental Conventions. The most recent ratification was registered on 19 December 2006, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).
Australia has a mature, comprehensive, workplace relations system with a solid tradition of industrial relations and social dialogue. It is expected that by January 2010 the country will have in place a new, national workplace relations system. This will consist of ten National Employment Standards; a modern awards system, a new collective bargaining framework, new unfair dismissal laws, and the establishment of a new independent industrial relations body or ‘umpire’, Fair Work Australia.
The Government, Workers and Employers’ organizations are firmly committed to decent work and a Decent Work Nation Action Plan is being developed.
The Australian Government held a seat on the ILO’s Governing Body (GB) almost continuously from 1945 to 1996. It stepped down in 1996 to allow other members in the sub-region to stand for election, but regained GB membership in June 2005. In March 2008 Australia was re-elected for a second term as the GB member for the Far East Asia and Pacific electoral sub region, representing Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, South Korea and the eight Pacific Island member States.
ILO activities in Australia are supported through the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in Bangkok, Thailand.