The Self-Regulation of Australian Professional Sport; When is External Regulation Needed?

Sport is viewed through many lenses but rarely is regulatory theory used. This article uses autopoietic theory and self-regulation to create a construct of how Australian sport is regulated. In the context of labour regulation this internal autopoietic system rarely engages with the external regulation. In fact, most Australian sports when conducting collective bargaining, operate outside the framework of Australian labour law. This article will look at when external regulation and regulatory actors have intervened in regulation of labour in
Australian sport and also current examples where there is a need for external regulation.