The new Industrial Relations Act 1999 (Qld) (hereafter 'the Act') provides the legislative basis for significant reform of labour market regulation in Queensland. An important dimension of this reform is an attempt to acknowledge and accommodate the role of family responsibilities of workers, both expanding the definition of family to include gay and lesbian partnerships and extending access to benefits to long-term casual workers, a group not previously recognised in this area.
Commonwealth of Australia v. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Muller [ 1998] 138 FCA.
7.
Commonwealth of Australia v. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and Kellan [1998] 137 FCA.
8.
Family Leave Test Case (1994) 57 IR 121.
9.
Maternity Leave Case (1979) 218 CAR 120.
10.
Parental Leave Case (1990) 36 IR 1.
11.
State Family Leave Test Case (1995) 59 IR 1.
12.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. no. 6359.0 (Forms of Employment, Australia) 2000.
13.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 'Labour: Working arrangements', Australia Now—A Statistical Profile (1999), <http://www.abs.gov.au/statistics> (15 September 1999).
14.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996 Census of Population and Housing: Selected Family and Labour Force Characteristics, <http://www.abs.gov.au/statistics> (15 September 1999).
15.
Braddy, P., Second Reading Speech, Industrial Relations Bill1999, 25 May 1999.
16.
Creighton, B. and Stewart, A. (eds), Labour Law: An Introduction ( Federation Press, 2000).
17.
Industrial Relations Taskforce, Review of Industrial Relations Legislation in Queensland (Brisbane: DETIR, 1998).
18.
Millbank, J., 'If Australian law opened its eyes to lesbian and gay families, what would it see?' Australian Journal of Family Law12 (1998), 99.
19.
Mitchell, R. (ed.), Redefining Labour Law: New Perspectives on the Future of Teaching and Research ( Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law, University of Melbourne, Occasional Monograph Senes no. 3, 1995).
20.
Owens, R., 'The traditional labour law framework: A critical evaluation', in Mitchell, op. cit.
