John Howe

Professor John Howe is Director of the Melbourne School of Government and Director of the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law at the University of Melbourne. John's research interests include labour market policy and regulation, regulatory design, and corporate accountability. He has written extensively on the role of the state in regulating employment and labour markets, and on the intersection between state-based regulation and corporate governance. John is presently engaged in research concerning regulatory enforcement of minimum employment standards and labour dispute resolution in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. He is also leading the Program on Regulation and Design at the School of Government, as well as a project on the evaluation of government social procurement initiatives.

John is a member of the Steering Committee of the international Labour Law Research Network, and is an Editor of the Australian Journal of Labour Law. John is also a member of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation at the University of Melbourne.

Prior to commencing an academic career, John worked in private legal practice, and also as a researcher for public policy and advocacy organisations in Washington DC. John was Secretary of the Australian Labour Law Association between 2005 and 2009, and Chair of the Labour Law Research Network from 2015-2019. He was Deputy Dean of the Melbourne Law School from 2013-2016.

Memberships and Affiliations

• Institute of Public Administration Australia
• Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law
• Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation
• Australian Labour Law Association
• Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand
• Industrial Relations Society of Victoria
• The Australia Institute
• Labour Law Research Network
• Regulating for Decent Work Network