Former NZ Attorney General and Labour Minister Professor Margaret Wilson has written a detailed account of the rise of precarious work arrangements in Australia and New Zealand in her paper Precarious Work: The Need for a New Policy Framework.

Professor Wilson says Australia and New Zealand currently rank fifth and fourth on the OECD scale of countries with the least employment protection laws, meaning precarious work – characterised by few benefits, low pay and a lack of access to collective bargaining – is becoming more common. Professor Wilson argues that we must look at how best to structure the policy agenda to protect those who are currently the most vulnerable.