Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100279
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$354,205.00
Summary
Work in franchises: searching for solutions at the regulatory frontier. This project aims to provide empirical and theoretical insights into the effective regulation of work-related rights and responsibilities of franchise workers, franchisees and franchisors. By combining comparative doctrinal analysis of labour and competition and consumer laws with mixed methods research, this project will expand our knowledge of the way in which public and private regulatory mechanisms influence the regulato ....Work in franchises: searching for solutions at the regulatory frontier. This project aims to provide empirical and theoretical insights into the effective regulation of work-related rights and responsibilities of franchise workers, franchisees and franchisors. By combining comparative doctrinal analysis of labour and competition and consumer laws with mixed methods research, this project will expand our knowledge of the way in which public and private regulatory mechanisms influence the regulatory behaviour of key stakeholders. This will contribute to the development of a normative framework designed to inform enforcement strategy, policy-making and work quality within franchises.Read moreRead less
Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of crimin ....Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of criminal laws and police powers concerned with presence in, and movement around public places. It will particularly focus on the impact on women, children and Indigenous peoples. The outcomes will seek to reduce the criminalisation of homeless people, by identifying law and policy reform options, and comparing their cost with that of 'business as usual'.Read moreRead less
Regulating Australia's retail grocery sector - goals, actors and techniques. The major supermarket chains have a substantial economic and social impact on consumers, businesses and communities and are crucial to Australia's economic growth and productivity. Given their size and reach, regulation of the chains poses significant challenges. This interdisciplinary, empirical and theoretically driven project aims to interrogate the goals and processes of competition law as it applies in the retail g ....Regulating Australia's retail grocery sector - goals, actors and techniques. The major supermarket chains have a substantial economic and social impact on consumers, businesses and communities and are crucial to Australia's economic growth and productivity. Given their size and reach, regulation of the chains poses significant challenges. This interdisciplinary, empirical and theoretically driven project aims to interrogate the goals and processes of competition law as it applies in the retail grocery sector. In the first Australian research of its kind, it endeavours to explain how the chains' strategies and industry relationships influence regulatory action. The research is expected to produce recommendations on instruments and techniques to ensure that regulation of the sector is legally and practically efficient and effective.Read moreRead less
Regulatory power and corporate misconduct. This project aims to map and critically analyse the shift towards negotiated enforcement in response to corporate misconduct in the financial sector. There is growing concern within the community, consumer advocates, elected representatives and the finance industry itself about the increasing use by regulators of negotiated enforcement mechanisms rather than litigation to counter serious corporate misconduct in the financial sector. There is concern tha ....Regulatory power and corporate misconduct. This project aims to map and critically analyse the shift towards negotiated enforcement in response to corporate misconduct in the financial sector. There is growing concern within the community, consumer advocates, elected representatives and the finance industry itself about the increasing use by regulators of negotiated enforcement mechanisms rather than litigation to counter serious corporate misconduct in the financial sector. There is concern that these practices may lack transparency, be inefficient, fail to deter corporate misbehaviour, and operate to subvert individual justice and the rule of law. This project aims to address these concerns by developing detailed recommendations for reform based on an examination of the theory and practices of Australian and United States of America financial regulators.Read moreRead less
Phoenix Activity: Regulating Fraudulent Use of the Corporate Form. Fraudulent phoenix activity is of great concern to Australian policymakers. It occurs where there is the deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying debts, but the business continues through another company, and in corporate groups through the liquidation of undercapitalised subsidiaries and transfer of business to other companies in the group. This behaviour causes huge losses in taxation revenue and large financial loss ....Phoenix Activity: Regulating Fraudulent Use of the Corporate Form. Fraudulent phoenix activity is of great concern to Australian policymakers. It occurs where there is the deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying debts, but the business continues through another company, and in corporate groups through the liquidation of undercapitalised subsidiaries and transfer of business to other companies in the group. This behaviour causes huge losses in taxation revenue and large financial losses for employees and unsecured creditors. To strengthen Australia’s economic fabric, this project aims to determine the optimal method of dealing with fraudulent phoenix activity through a thorough examination of all of its aspects in Australia and by a comparative analysis of international responses.Read moreRead less
Undocumented Migrants- Unearthing Knowledge on a Key Source of Farm Labour. The Australian horticulture industry has endemic labour challenges, both in terms of labour supply challenges and a systemic problem of non-compliance with labour standards. A core component of both problems is the entrenched reliance on undocumented migrants. Given complex supply chains transiting fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm to the consumer, undocumented workers are largely invisible. There is very little ....Undocumented Migrants- Unearthing Knowledge on a Key Source of Farm Labour. The Australian horticulture industry has endemic labour challenges, both in terms of labour supply challenges and a systemic problem of non-compliance with labour standards. A core component of both problems is the entrenched reliance on undocumented migrants. Given complex supply chains transiting fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm to the consumer, undocumented workers are largely invisible. There is very little research on undocumented workers on farms. Addressing this critical Australian and international knowledge gap, this project is the first study to comprehensively analyse the role of undocumented migrants in the horticulture industry from a multi-stakeholder approach, involving government, employers and workers.Read moreRead less
Administrative justice in China: harnessing the rule of law to deal with citizen complaints against official misconduct. Ongoing conflicts between citizens and government officials in China pose a serious threat to the country’s social stability. Dealing fairly and efficiently with citizens’ complaints of administrative misconduct is a core component of China’s commitment to good governance and the rule of law. This legal project undertakes the first systematic examination of the three mechanism ....Administrative justice in China: harnessing the rule of law to deal with citizen complaints against official misconduct. Ongoing conflicts between citizens and government officials in China pose a serious threat to the country’s social stability. Dealing fairly and efficiently with citizens’ complaints of administrative misconduct is a core component of China’s commitment to good governance and the rule of law. This legal project undertakes the first systematic examination of the three mechanisms underpinning administrative justice in China and their interaction: administrative litigation, administrative review, and letters and visits. It will assess China’s capacity to use law to address chronic abuse of power. It will provide a practical understanding of the changing nature of China’s commitment to the rule of law and the implications for Australia.Read moreRead less