The complex transition from convict to free labour influenced state intervention in the employment relationship, and initiated the first minimum labour standards in Australia in 1828. Since then, two principal sets of tensions have affected the enforcement of such standards: tensions between government and employers, and tensions between the major political parties over industrial and economic issues. This article argues that these tensions have resulted in a sustained legacy affecting minimum labour standards’ enforcement in Australia. The article outlines broad historical developments and contexts of minimum labour standards’ enforcement in Australia since 1828, with more contemporary exploration focusing specifically on enforcement practices and policies in the Australian federal industrial relations jurisdiction. Current enforcement practices are an outcome of this volatile history, and past influences remain strong.

While the extent of employer non-compliance with minimum employment standards has yet to be decisively determined in Australia, there is evidence to suggest that it is both prevalent and persistent. This article draws on the scholarship emerging from the regulatory studies field to explore the underlying impulses and issues that may have led to this compliance gap. It considers how a more pluralistic and decentred understanding of regulation may improve compliance. This understanding is then applied to examine the various ways in which the federal labour inspectorate — the Fair Work Ombudsman — has sought to supplement and strengthen its existing compliance and enforcement mechanisms by harnessing or ‘enrolling’ non-state stakeholders, such as employer associations, trade unions, top-level firms and key individuals.