Australia’s industrial strikes have not disappeared — but they have collapsed
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.
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.