The Development and Evolution of Labour Mobility in Australian Sport

The regulation of labour in Australian professional sport developed interconnected labour controls that evolved to severely restrict the ability of players to choose their employer and change jobs. While practices such as the retention and transfer system, restrictions on interleague transfers, residency, zoning, free agency and salary caps seem abhorrent in the lens of standard industrial practice, they underpin the regulation of player labour in sport. Prior to collective bargaining that emerged in the 1990s, a number of labour controls were successfully challenged in court. The cases demonstrate that sport is not immune from the common law restraint of trade doctrine. However the regular cases that were contested from the 1970s to 1990s ended when sports shifted to collective bargaining. Modern labour controls such as free agency, trades and salary caps are now contested at the negotiation table. This article examines labour controls in Australian sport that were challenged in court. It argues that labour controls that inhibit mobility are now subjected to collective bargaining and are determined by players, clubs and leagues.