Regulated autonomy or autonomous regulation? : collective bargaining and academic workloads in Australian universities

The recommendations of the 'Bradley Review' of higher education in Australia identified a clear need for examination of the academic labour market and the limited attractiveness of academia as a profession. Reasons for the lack of attractiveness include increased academic workloads, as evidenced by larger class sizes and staff-student ratios. This article examines the relevant academic workload clauses from collective bargaining agreements, operating in a cross-section of 'public' universities in Australia. Our findings challenge a common belief that workload clauses in university collective agreements are regulating academics' autonomy as they are largely unregulated and hence left to the domain of managerial prerogative. We suggest that this situation serves the needs of university managers, but not necessarily the needs of students, staff and policy makers.