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# Australia’s industrial strikes have not disappeared — but they have collapsed
- URL: https://www.benchmarkanalytics.com.au/australias-long-decline-in-industrial-disputes/
- Published: 2026-09-09T05:39:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-09T05:43:26.000Z
- Description: Australia’s industrial disputes data show a recent lift in activity, but the deeper story is the extraordinary long-run decline in strikes and working days lost since the 1980s.
- Author: Nick Hossack
- Tags: Labour Market, Industrial Relations, ABS, Wages, Productivity

Australia still experiences industrial disputes, but the long-run trend is unmistakable: the country is vastly less strike-prone than it was in the 1980s and 1990s.

The latest ABS release shows that in the **June quarter 2026** there were **49 disputes**, unchanged from the previous quarter, although the number of employees involved and working days lost both fell sharply. Over the **year to June 2026**, total disputes rose to **217** and working days lost reached **193,000**, so there has been some recent firming.

But the historical context matters far more than the quarter-to-quarter noise.

Australia recorded **1,958 disputes in 1985**, compared with **252 in 2025**. Working days lost were **1.26 million in 1985**, compared with **166,600 in 2025**. On an average quarterly basis, the late 1980s saw about **416 disputes** and **340,000 working days lost**. In the 2020s, those averages have fallen to roughly **50 disputes** and **31,600 working days lost**.

That is a profound structural change, especially in the context of strong employment growth in that period. Industrial conflict still flares during bargaining rounds and public-sector campaigns, but it is operating from a much lower base. 

Australia’s industrial relations system has become far less strike-intensive over time, reflecting lower union density, industrial change and the use of shorter, more targeted forms of action.

Australia’s long decline in industrial disputes

Annual total disputes, 1985–2025, with latest year-ended context from the June quarter 2026 ABS release.

| 1985 full year 1,958 total disputes | 2025 full year 252 total disputes | Year to Jun 2026 217 total disputes |
| ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 1985 1995 2005 2015 2025 1985: 1,958 2025: 252 Year to Jun 2026: 217 

| **Working days lost:** 1.26 million in 1985, 166,600 in 2025, and 193,000 over the year to June 2026. **Source:** ABS Industrial Disputes, Australia; annual totals calculated from quarterly Table 1 series. |
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