Industrial Disputes, Australia

Latest release

The number of disputes (strikes or lockouts), employees involved and working days lost; cause of dispute; duration; and the reason work resumed

Reference period
December 2024
Released
12/03/2025
  • Next Release 11/06/2025
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, March 2025
  • Next Release 10/09/2025
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, June 2025
  • View all releases

Key statistics

In the December quarter 2024:

  • 69 disputes occurred.
  • 25,200 employees were involved and 53,800 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 8 industries and in 8 states and territories.

During the year ended December 2024, there were 194 disputes and a total of 139,100 working days lost.

Key statistics
  QuarterYear ended
  September Quarter 2024December Quarter 2024December Quarter 2023December Quarter 2024
Number of disputes (no.)  
 New5449190182
 Total 6369198194
Employees involved ('000)  
 New30.921.745.386.9
 Total 33.025.246.089.1
Working days lost ('000)  46.653.899.3139.1

Overview

In the December quarter 2024, there were:

  • 69 disputes, an increase from 63 in the previous quarter.
  • 25,200 employees involved, a decrease from 33,000 in the previous quarter.
  • 53,800 working days lost, an increase from 46,600 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 194 disputes occurred, 4 less than in the previous year.
  • 139,100 working days were lost, 39,800 more than in the previous year.
Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter
 Number of disputesEmployees involvedWorking days lost 
 New (no.)Total (no.)New ('000)Total ('000)('000)
December Quarter 2022536818.421.621.0
March Quarter 202333414.14.77.7
June Quarter 202357719.610.510.2
September Quarter 2023536717.418.837.1
December Quarter 2023476714.318.644.2
March Quarter 2024364810.612.816.8
June Quarter 2024435223.623.821.9
September Quarter 2024546330.933.046.6
December Quarter 2024496921.725.253.8

Long-term trends

The level of industrial disputation over recent years is considerably lower than in the 1980's and prior decades.

Industry

In the December quarter, disputes occurred in eight industries.  Over a half (61%) of the total working days lost were in the Transport, Postal and Warehousing industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  September Quarter 2024December Quarter 2024
  Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
Mining  
 Coal mining0.25.71.022.6
 Other mining--npnp
Manufacturing  
 Metal product etc (a)2.37.13.611.3
 Other manufacturing3.67.1npnp
Construction 27.525.67.56.7
Transport, postal & warehousing 1.42.333.049.6
Education & training; Health care & social assistance 6.01.86.41.9
Other industries (a) 5.60.81.70.2
All industries 46.63.553.84.0

(a)  see Glossary - Industry - for details of industries included
(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

States and territories

Disputes occurred in eight states and territories in the December quarter, with over half (52%) of the total working days lost occurring in Victoria.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 September Quarter 2024December Quarter 2024
 Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
New South Wales12.23.015.03.6
Victoria16.64.827.77.9
Queensland13.14.95.42.0
South Australia2.73.1npnp
Western Australia0.30.24.22.8
Tasmanianpnpnpnp
Northern Territorynpnp0.21.5
Australian Capital Territorynpnp0.62.3
Australia46.63.553.84.0

(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Cause of dispute

Most industrial disputes are Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related. Over the past 10 years, disputes over employment conditions have generally been the most prevalent. 

EB related issues were the cause of 86% of disputes (37 of 43) which ended in the September quarter 2024.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024
  Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Enterprise Bargaining related  
 Remuneration60.41.6131.52.0
 Employment conditions2310.47.6233.916.8
 Other ---1-0.4
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related  
 Remuneration---10.20.4
 Employment conditions---1npnp
 Health and safety115.94.73npnp
 Job security1npnp1npnp
 Managerial policy------
 Union issues1npnp---
 Other13.11.6---
Total 4321.716.7435.819.8

(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Working days lost

Working days lost is a measure of the length of a dispute, relative to the number of employees involved.

Of the 43 disputes which ended in the September quarter, 7 lasted over 2 and less than 5 days. These disputes had:

  • 1,400 employees involved; and
  • 5,200 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Up to and including 1 day2320.411.821npnp
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days40.30.481.31.7
Over 2 and less than 5 days121.03.171.45.2
5 and less than 10 days20.10.440.84.5
10 days and over2-1.03npnp
Total4321.716.7435.819.8

(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

 

Reason work resumed

The reason work resumed relates to the last day of action taken. Resumption of work can occur without resolution to the issues that triggered the dispute. 

There was a pre-determined return to work for 79% of disputes (34 of 43) which ended in the September quarter 2024. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 June Quarter 2024September Quarter 2024
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Negotiation without intervention of a third party4npnp30.11.8
State legislation------
Federal legislation---1npnp
Pre-determined return to work3118.913.7345.517.7
Resumption without negotiation7npnp4npnp
Mediation1npnp10.10.1
Other reasons------
Total4321.716.7435.819.8

(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
 

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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