Scott Fitzgerald

This study examines the structure, scale and scope of Australia's television streaming services market against the backdrop of the incoming ‘prominence legislation’. Streaming video is now the second-largest content market in Australia with a diverse blend of international subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, local advertising-supported broadcast video-on-demand (BVOD) services and hybrid models. The recently passed Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-Siphoning) Bill requires new televisions prioritise BVOD apps as free-to-air (FTA) television companies face increased competition from subscription streaming giants. Mixed reactions from industry stakeholders, reflect complex relationships and power dynamics in the sector. This article provides an overview of the Australian streaming industry, summarises the new legislation, and analyses market diversity. It then considers the implications of the legislation for market competition and the future of FTA television in Australia. Findings suggest that while the law benefits BVOD services, its long-term viability remains uncertain as SVOD services increasingly incorporate advertising. The study highlights the challenges of regulating an emerging industry and underscores important economic and cultural considerations in policymaking.

In analysing the working lives of independent filmmakers, a critical consideration is the aspect of where work takes place and the need for both appropriate space in which to shoot films and the mobility to make it happen. The concept of being ‘on location’ is a well-known aspect of film production as the traditional studio system was designed around economies of scale and the minimisation of costs for both environmental and human factors. For those outside of the commercial system who prioritise independence and the freedom to work on projects that enable creative control, the reality of location is a major financial and artistic consideration that affects several critical factors such as: the affordability of where to live; the expectation of mobility; opportunities for career development; and the viability of sustaining enough work in the domestic context. Based on 24 semi-structured interviews with independent filmmakers in the Australian screen industry, this research considers the precariousness of creative work in the cultural industries and how this intersects with both labour mobility and the desire to build a career and sustain meaningful work and employment.

The series of responses in this article were gathered as part of an online mini conference held in September 2021 that sought to explore different ideas and articulations of school autonomy reform across the world (Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, the USA, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand). It centred upon an important question: what needs to happen for school autonomy to be mobilised to create more equitable public schools and systems of education? There was consensus across the group that school autonomy reform creates further inequities at school and system levels when driven by the logics of marketisation, competition, economic efficiency and public accountability. Against the backdrop of these themes, the conference generated discussion and debate where provocations and points of agreement and disagreement about issues of social justice and the mobilisation of school autonomy reform were raised. As an important output of this discussion, we asked participants to write a short response to the guiding conference question. The following are these responses which range from philosophical considerations, systems and governance perspectives, national particularities and teacher and principal perspectives.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate how human resource professionals (HRPs), in a variety of organizations, responded to the crisis brought about by the event of COVID-19. In particular, it aims to show how organizations, across all sectors, in Western Australia responded with urgency and flexibility to the crisis and showed “resilience in practice”.Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on 136 questionnaire responses, 32 interviews and 25 managerial narratives. The mixed qualitative methodology was designed to enable an investigation of the impact of COVID-19 and the response of HRPs.Findings: HRPs have responded with agility and flexibility to the impact of COVID-19. They have done so through extensive trial and error, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing. They have not simply activated a preconceived continuity plan.Research limitations/implications: The research indicates that resilience is an ongoing accomplishment of organizations and the people in them. The objective was description rather than prescription, and the research does not offer solutions to future pandemic-like situations.Practical implications: The research suggests that, given the impact of COVID-19 on organizations, HR practices, processes and policies will need to be thoroughly reconsidered for relevance in the post-COVID world. Possible future directions are highlighted.Originality/value: The research considers the actions of HRPs as they responded to a global crisis as the crisis unfolded.

This article analyses the commodification of professional labour and union responses to these processes within the employment heartland. It explores the category of fixed-contract or ‘temporary’ employment using Australian public school teaching as the empirical lens. Established to address intensifying conditions of labour market insecurity, the union-led creation of the temporary category was intended to partly decommodify labour by providing intermediate security between permanent and ‘casual’ employment. However, using historical case and contemporary survey data, we discern that escalation of temporary teacher numbers and intensifying work-effort demands concurrently increased insecurity within the teacher workforce, constituting recommodification. The article contributes to scant literature on unions and commodification, highlighting that within the current marketised context, labour commodification may occur through contradictory influences at multiple levels, and that union responses to combat this derogation of work must similarly be multi-level and sustained.