About The Project

The project is a 3 year investigation into the gig economy in Australia, using labour geography approach to understand working life in the gig economy.

The purpose of the study is to understand why, where and how workers do gig work, what they get from that work and what the experience of the work is.

The project aims are to:

Advance understandings of how and why the gig economy is fragmenting work and workers' lives.
Investigate how, where, when and why gig workers engage in gig work, and the effect of these choices on their working and non-work lives.
Theorise how performing gig work both reflects and shapes expressions of worker agency in pursuit of better working and life conditions.
Contribute to academic and policy debates around the regulation and performance of gig work in Australia's industrial relations system.

The project will recruit participants in different segments of the gig economy, with the intention to follow up with participants every few months to see if how they engage in gig work is stable or dynamic. It will investigate motivations to join the gig economy, and how gig work matches their expectations, and how they maximise the best aspects of gig work.

The project will also include a PhD project looking at the experience of international students working in the gig economy.

Meet the Team

Thanks to the support of the ARC and UWA, the project is resourced with a lead researcher, research assistance and a PhD Candidate.

Dr Tom Barratt

Lead Researcher/DECRA Fellow

Tom is a Senior Lecturer, who works as a labour geographer within the Management and Organisations Department of UWA’s Business School. His research considers work in a geographical context, having done much work with key collaborators Drs Caleb Goods and Alex Veen on Australia’s gig economy, as well as working on the geography of resource extraction. He worked at Edith Cowan University’s School of Business and Law from 2018-2022, having completed his PhD under the supervision of A/Prof Michael Gillan and the late Prof. Rob Lambert at UWA in 2017.

Alexandra Roberts

Research Assistant (2023)

Alex, a recent graduate in Human Resource Management from UWA, brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for reshaping the future of work. Engaged as a Research Assistant, the gig economy is her area of interest, driving her commitment to shedding light on the experiences of those navigating this landscape. As a Committee Member of the Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia, involvement in shaping employment discussions extends beyond research endeavours.

Thilini Bandera

PhD Student & Research Assistant (2024)

Thilini Bandara is currently pursuing her PhD at The University of Western Australia as part of the DECRA project. Her study involves exploring the experience of international students in Australia who work within the gig economy, examining their work-life-study nexus and how their employment shapes their understanding of/approach to labour agency. Through this study, she aims to bring new theoretical insights and contribute to reshaping the future landscape of gig work for international students in Australia.

She holds an MBA from the University of Kelaniya and a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Technology & Management, with a specialization in Applied Economics & Business Management from the University of Peradeniya, where she has won a gold medal and a university prize for the best performance from her faculty for the year 2019.

Building on her academic career, Thilini has served as a researcher and lecturer in Sri Lanka since 2019. Her research expertise lies in the areas of Student and Labor Migration, Remittances, Industry, Entrepreneurship, SME, and Public Policy and have conducted a series of research with the collaboration of organizations such as the ILO, IOM, and World Bank.

Interested in participating in the Project?

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