Workplace partnership in Australia: real or imaginary?

Throughout the last 20 years many countries have pursued an agenda seeking more collaborative management-union arrangements or ‘partnerships’. The current workplace industrial relations (IR) legislation in Australia suggests a shift towards a new model of workplace interaction that includes more collaboration and partnerships. Former Prime Minister Keating argued that the 1983-1996 Accord was ‘a state of mind’ rather than an actual reform program seeking a tripartite relationship between unions, government and business. This article assesses the extent to which collaboration and partnership in Australia’s modern IR system is a ‘new’ state of mind or whether it is a realistic roadmap to a new Australian IR landscape. The implications of this agenda for industrial practice and the conduct of industrial relations are considered.