Australian Video Games Industry Is Getting Its Own Union

Game developers in Australia will soon be able to represent themselves against large game publishers, thanks to the formation of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA). This new trade union will represent both workers and employers in the video game development sector, with the aim of improving members’ employment conditions, protecting their rights in the workplace and helping to ensure their professional and personal development.

The Australian video game industry is getting its own union. The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, which represents more than 600 game development companies across the country, has voted to establish a union for its workers. The move was made in response to the ongoing debate around the “Australia Tax”, the practice of local video game prices always being higher than their US counterparts.

On Wednesday, December 6, 2017, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (the ACTU) announced that it was officially forming a union for the video game industry. This union will specifically be for workers in the games industry, which includes game developers, as well as everyone else who works in the industry, such as marketers, event organizers, and so on.

Australian video game developers are getting their own union. The International Game Developers Association will launch in Australia and New Zealand in October, with the goal of protecting employees, advocating for better game development practices and helping workers find jobs. The move comes after a string of high-profile studio closures, and the general disarray in the global games industry. The International Game Developers Association is currently made up of more than 25,000 members worldwide, and has held annual conferences since 1997. The Australian arm is being run by former Rockstar and Team Bondi developer Leena van Deventer, and will seek to represent all developers in the region.