Australian Fairpay Commission

As part of its 2008 Minimum Wage Review, the Commission conducted consultations in each state and territory between February and May 2008.

These visits provided opportunities for the Commission to learn more about regional labour market conditions and the impact of its decisions on employers, employees and unemployed Australians.

The Commission conducted:

1. Stakeholder meetings with
• representatives from national employee, employer and community organisations and the federal government;
• representatives from key employee, employer and community organisations in states and territories and with state and territory governments;
• its Disability Roundtable and;

• its Business Consultative Groups.

2. Site visits to
• metropolitan and regional areas to visit places of employment;
• employment services providers; and
• training providers.

Consultation schedule

The schedule below provides details of the Commission’s metropolitan and regional visits for 2008:

Focus groups

The information gathered through stakeholder meetings and site visits is supplemented by a program of targeted focus group consultations involving low-paid and unemployed people, juniors and employers in capital cities and regional areas.

The program will include focus groups with Australians whose primary language is not English.

Participants in the focus groups comprise a mix of ages and life circumstances. Focus groups with employers include a spread of industries across different locations and labour markets.

Focus groups schedule

The schedule below provides details of the focus group consultations held during February and March 2008:

Online discussion forums

The Commission also conducted a series of interactive online discussion forums during February and March 2008.