Throughout the Anglo-Saxon world the 'organising model' has become the key union strategy for reversing membership decline. This article, however, argues that this model is conceptually flawed, in that it overlooks the significance of structural factors and strategies directed towards the regulation of occupational labour markets. In the absence of a system of industry or occupation-wide regulation even the best organised workplaces are exposed to de-unionisation. Sixteen years after its Australian adoption there is little evidence that the organising model has had any meaningful impact.