• Easy come, easy go

    David Bissell     |      July 25, 2022

    We’ve all got used to seeing bike riders on our city streets ferrying meals and other goods to households, but whether this trend is good for consumers or workers is another matter.

  • In the new normal, who gets the gig?

    Garth Rowland     |      October 2, 2020

    Companies are using the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce their permanent staff and increase the number of freelancers they use on a casual basis, but the effect of these cost cutting measures could ripple out across the whole economy.

  • Gigging to recovery

    Open Forum     |      May 28, 2020

    Hundreds of thousands of Australians are out of work as a result of COVID-19, but some may find new jobs through digital platforms, particularly in areas like food delivery, writing, law, accountancy, home maintenance, IT or graphic design.

  • Redefining workers in the platform economy

    Tom Barratt     |      November 30, 2018

    By treating workers as independent contractors, “gig economy” companies such as Foodora have avoided the cost of paying employee entitlements such as annual leave, sick leave and superannuation. However a recent ruling against them may not ensure workers rights in other similar firms.