Working Time as an Equality Issue: Disrupting the Normative Worker?
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2026
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Australian Journal of Labour Law
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LexisNexis Australia
Melbourne Authors
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Melbourne Law School
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Journal Article
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Blackham, A. (2026). Working Time as an Equality Issue: Disrupting the Normative Worker?. Australian Journal of Labour Law, 39 (2)
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Open Access
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Abstract
Working time has important implications for advancing equality at work. This article maps the historical evolution of working time in Australian labour law. It considers how labour regulation has effected reductions in maximum working hours, and the extent to which enduring norms relating to working time remain, even with the growth of part-time and flexible work. The article examines how working time regulation might need to shift to better promote equality in Australian workplaces.
The article argues that the embedded ‘norm’ of working time, and the prioritisation of the normative full-time worker, continues to make equality elusive in Australian workplaces. Despite statutory reform, the normative full-time worker has proven enduring and resistant to change. As work continues to shift and change, including due to the adoption of new technologies, governments, unions and workers themselves need to embrace, advocate for and pursue more equitable, flexible and transformative approaches to working time.