Industrial Disputes, Australia

Latest release

The number of disputes (strikes or lockouts), employees involved and working days lost; cause of dispute; duration; and the reason work resumed

Reference period
June 2025
Released
10/09/2025
  • Next Release 10/12/2025
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, September 2025
  • Next Release 11/03/2026
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, December 2025
  • Next Release 10/06/2026
    Industrial Disputes, Australia, March 2026
  • View all releases
Release date and time
10/09/2025 11:30am AEST

Key statistics

In the June quarter 2025:

  • 44 disputes occurred.
  • 15,900 employees were involved and 28,500 working days lost.
  • disputes occurred in 8 industries and in 5 states.

During the year ended June 2025, there were 185 disputes and a total of 142,900 working days lost.

Key statistics
 QuarterYear ended
 March Quarter 2025June Quarter 2025June Quarter 2024June Quarter 2025
Number of disputes (no.) 
 New3439179176
 Total 4444193185
Employees involved ('000) 
 New8.914.765.976.3
 Total 10.315.967.378.4
Working days lost ('000) 13.928.5120142.9

Overview

In the June quarter 2025, there were:

  • 44 disputes, remained the same as the previous quarter.
  • 15,900 employees involved, an increase from 10,300 in the previous quarter.
  • 28,500 working days lost, an increase from 13,900 in the previous quarter.

Year ended estimates:

  • 185 disputes occurred, 8 less than in the previous year.
  • 142,900 working days were lost, 22,900 more than in the previous year.
Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter
 Number of disputesEmployees involvedWorking days lost 
 New (no.)Total (no.)New ('000)Total ('000)('000)
June Quarter 202357719.610.510.2
September Quarter 2023536717.418.837.1
December Quarter 2023476714.318.644.2
March Quarter 2024364810.612.816.8
June Quarter 2024435223.623.821.9
September Quarter 2024546330.933.046.6
December Quarter 2024496921.725.253.8
March Quarter 202534448.910.313.9
June Quarter 2025394414.715.928.5

Long-term trends

The level of industrial disputation over recent years is considerably lower than in the 1980s and prior decades.

Industry

In the June quarter, disputes occurred in eight industries.  Just under a half (47%) of the total working days lost were in the Construction industry.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, industry
  March Quarter 2025June Quarter 2025
  Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
Mining 
 Coal miningnpnpnpnp
 Other miningnpnp0.10.3
Manufacturing 
 Metal product etc (a)1.85.62.27.3
 Other manufacturing4.18.21.63.1
Construction3.43.013.412.3
Transport, postal & warehousing2.74.11.62.4
Education & training; Health care & social assistancenpnp7.82.3
Other industries (a)1.00.1npnp
All industries13.91.028.52.1

(a)  see Glossary - Industry - for details of industries included
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

States and territories

Disputes occurred in five states in the June quarter, the highest (44%) of the total working days lost occurred in New South Wales.

Industrial disputes which occurred during the quarter, states and territories
 March Quarter 2025June Quarter 2025
 Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)Working days lost ('000)Working days lost per thousand employees (no.)
New South Wales2.60.612.73.1
Victoria6.01.72.90.8
Queensland4.21.510.13.6
South Australia0.60.7npnp
Western Australia0.50.3npnp
Tasmania----
Northern Territory0.10.5--
Australian Capital Territory----
Australia13.91.028.52.1

(-) nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Cause of dispute

Most industrial disputes are Enterprise Bargaining (EB) related. Over the past 10 years, disputes over employment conditions have generally been the most prevalent. 

EB related issues were the cause of 79% of disputes (31 of 39) which ended in the March quarter 2025.

Cause of dispute for disputes which ended during the quarter
  December Quarter 2024March Quarter 2025
  Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Enterprise Bargaining related 
 Remuneration122.09.571.32.4
 Employment conditions4120.846.4244.312.7
 Other ------
Non-Enterprise Bargaining related 
 Remuneration---10.10.1
 Employment conditions------
 Health and safety41.00.830.20.2
 Job security------
 Managerial policy---20.20.3
 Union issues---10.2-
 Other223.024.513.82.8
Total 5946.781.33910.118.4

 (-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
 

Working days lost

Working days lost is a measure of the length of a dispute, relative to the number of employees involved.

Of the 39 disputes which ended in the March quarter, 22 lasted Up to and including 1 day. These disputes had:

  • 6,600 employees involved; and
  • 4,200 working days lost.
Working days lost for disputes which ended during the quarter
 December Quarter 2024March Quarter 2025
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Up to and including 1 day2920.914.2226.64.2
Over 1 day and up to including 2 days1420.724.761.11.6
Over 2 and less than 5 days71.86.270.82.3
5 and less than 10 days30.85.02npnp
10 days and over62.531.32npnp
Total5946.781.33910.118.4

(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated

Reason work resumed

The reason work resumed relates to the last day of action taken. Resumption of work can occur without resolution to the issues that triggered the dispute. 

There was a pre-determined return to work for 77% of disputes (30 of 39) which ended in the March quarter 2025. 

Reason work resumed for disputes which ended during the quarter
 December Quarter 2024March Quarter 2025
 Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)Number of disputes (no.)Employees involved ('000)Working days lost ('000)
Negotiation without intervention of a third party63.024.15npnp
State legislation------
Federal legislation---1npnp
Pre-determined return to work5143.657.130npnp
Resumption without negotiation20.20.130.10.1
Mediation------
Other reasons------
Total5946.781.33910.118.4

(-)  nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(np)  not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
 

Data downloads

Time Series Spreadsheets

Data files

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6321.0.55.001.

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