Military Intervention in Australian Industrial Action

Abstract

This article explores the viability for the executive power to authorise the use of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) domestically, through the lens of military intervention in industrial action. It has become practice, when discussing the executive power, to delineate between breadth and depth – the latter of which is somewhat controversial. The article first looks at possible courses of action that can be taken under the Defence Act 1903 (Cth), before highlighting the apparent gap where the ADF is placed in domestic situations that might require coercion or force, but the situation does not meet the "domestic violence" threshold required under Pt IIIAAA. It then discusses the non-statutory executive power – namely, the internal security prerogative and the implied nationhood power. The article concludes by advocating for statutory empowerment and protection for ADF members.