One area in which the Australian workforce does not compare well with others in the region is industrial relations. A history of strikes and labour unrest have hurt Australian industry and have made it less than an ideal place for foreign investors. The power of labour unions has declined somewhat, though substantial reforms of labour laws have yet to be achieved. Since the early 1980s, the number and seriousness of industrial disputes have lessened dramatically, though labour difficulties are more of a concern in Australia than in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan or many other places in the region. Australia is a politically stable democracy with a well developed, independent legal system, based on the British Common Law System.
Rule of law is respected, information flows freely and personal liberties are upheld.
In fact, Australia often has been viewed as a safe haven by people from less stable parts of the Asia-Pacific region. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Australian government began to open the economy more to international competition and began to reduce what had become a bloated and inefficient welfare state. Starting in 1993, the national and local governments began an initiative to attract the Asia-Pacific regional headquarters of overseas firms by targeting 700 firms that might possibly set up a headquarters in Sydney and then offering tax concessions and other inducements. As part of this plan it also began streamlining immigration procedures for expatriate employees. By 1996, some 67 new headquarters had been attracted to Australia, most of these to Sydney.