Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Australia (Ratification: 1969)

1. The Committee took note with interest of the Government's report for the period ending June 1996, which contains extensive and detailed information together with a series of relevant documents. It notes that the upturn in employment growth, which was already perceptible at the end of the previous period, has been confirmed with an average annual rate of 4 per cent in 1994-95 and 2.6 per cent in 1995-96; despite the increase in activity rates, particularly for women, this enabled the unemployment rate to be reduced to 8.5 per cent in 1996 from 9.7 per cent in 1994. The share of long-term unemployment, which stood at 36 per cent in 1994, was reduced to under 30 per cent of total unemployment in 1996.

2. The Government which took office in March 1996 states that it has undertaken to implement a National Job Creation Strategy which is designed to increase the employment growth rate for all Australians, in particular young people, by creating a climate favourable to economic growth. The medium-term budget policy aims to reduce the public deficit so as to increase the national savings available for the financing of private activity. Industrial and commercial policy is designed to accelerate the internationalization of the economy, while minimizing the cost of structural adjustment by means of regional or sectoral measures. In addition, wage policy emphasizes decentralized negotiation at enterprise level so as to guarantee the labour market flexibility necessary to create jobs. Noting that the aim which the previous Government had set itself of achieving an unemployment rate of around 5 per cent by the end of the decade, has not been retained, the Committee hopes that the next report will contain an interim assessment of the way in which the new economic policies are helping to further the employment goals of the Convention and in particular on any impact on general wage levels.

3. The Committee also notes the detailed information provided on active labour market policy measures and the assessment of their effectiveness. In particular, it notes that special efforts continue to be devoted to reintegrating the long-term unemployed. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide such information and to describe the reforms undertaken to improve the results obtained by these measures. It also notes the provisions creating closer links between the payment of benefits and the active search for employment, and requests the Government to continue to provide information on any new measures taken with a view to achieving better coordination between the mechanisms supporting the income of unemployed people and employment promotion. Finally, the Committee notes that, following the repeal of the Training Guarantee Act, reforms have been undertaken to better adapt training to the needs of employers and employees. The Committee invites the Government to describe any new measures for the coordination of education and training policies with employment prospects, taking also into account the provisions of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142).