AGENDA

• 8:30 AM

  Registration opens

• 9:00 AM

  Opening remarks from the chairperson

  

  Mariah Loriente

  Managing Director/Founder
  Flawless HR

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  Mariah Loriente

  Managing Director/Founder
  Flawless HR

  Mariah Loriente is the Managing Director and Founder of Flawless HR – a workplace relations consultancy that provides holistic, legally sound HR advice and outsourced HR services to Australian businesses.

  Mariah began her career as an employment lawyer, then later as a senior workplace relations consultant where she developed extensive experience advising clients on their human resources practices from a legal perspective.

  Adding to her portfolio career, Mariah is also the Director of People & Culture for Connectus Wealth Advisors in Australia where she is responsible for developing organisational structure, enhancing employee experience and driving a flourishing workplace culture.

• 9:10 AM

  Navigating flexible work requests

  Employees are seeking greater flexibility in the modern workplace, with many preferring to work remotely. How are employers managing requests for flexible work arrangements and how do you determine who is fit for a remote setup? This session will examine the latest obligations of the employer in relation to recent legislation for flexible working arrangements.
   

  • Outlining recent changes to flexible work arrangement requests 
  • Tips on managing flexible work requests to minimise disputes 
  • Determining whether an employee has reasonable business grounds to work flexibly 
  • Understanding the possible outcomes when an employee refutes a denied request 
  • Lessons from The Police Federation of Australia (Victoria Police Branch) v Chief Commissioner of Police T/A Victoria Police [2022] and Ambulance Victoria v Fyfe [2023] 

   

  

  Allison Shannon

  Partner
  Clayton Utz

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  Allison Shannon

  Partner
  Clayton Utz

  Allison is a Partner in Clayton Utz’s Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety team. Allison advises and represents clients in the public and private sector on both contentious and non-contentious employment and industrial relations matters, including unfair dismissals, employment advice and litigation, industrial relations issues and disputes, enterprise bargaining, discrimination and harassment, occupational health and safety and preparing employment and contractor agreements. Allison also has extensive experience in all aspects of discrimination and equal opportunity law and conducting workplace investigations.

• 9:55 AM

  Upcoming changes to fixed- and maximum-term contract provisions

  The use of fixed-term and maximum-term contracts will be significantly limited with anticipated regulations in effect later this year. What are the inclusions and exceptions in the upcoming limitations? 

   

  • What are the exceptions to the fixed-term contract prohibition? 
  • Understanding the anti-avoidance provisions to prevent prohibition  
  • Are there any alternatives to max term contracts? 
  • Preparing a fixed-term contract information statement 
  • What happens if there is a breach of prohibition? 

  

  Matthew Reiman

  Senior Associate
  Herbert Smith Freehills

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  Matthew Reiman

  Senior Associate
  Herbert Smith Freehills

  Mathew is an employment lawyer focusing on employment and industrial relations disputes. Mathew’s experience across a broad range of employment and industrial relations law matters position him as an expert and trusted advisor in navigating and minimising the significant impact of uncertainty arising from employment and industrial relations matters. Mathew has extensive experience acting for clients across numerous industries including manufacturing, education, energy, and food manufacturing. His familiarity with working with businesses of all sizes, including small, medium, large, national, and international businesses, means he is well positioned to address employment and industrial relations challenges irrespective of the size, significance, and impact of the relevant problem within a business. Mathew is a passionate advocate for clients in value-oriented disputes with employees, always seeking to achieve commercially sound outcomes which avoid costly and unnecessary disputation where possible.

   

• 10:40 AM

  Morning tea and refreshments break

• 11:10 AM

  Updates to the enterprise bargaining framework and multi-employer agreements

  There have been several significant changes in enterprise bargaining from the latest 

  Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation. How will these changes affect the negotiation and implementation of enterprise agreements?

   

  • What are the new Statement of Principles for proposed enterprise agreements? 
  • Simplifying the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT)  
  • Examining the revised structure of three multi-employer bargaining streams – cooperative workplaces agreements, supported bargaining authorisations, and single-interest employer authorisations 
  • What are the Fair Work Commission’s new methods to deal with a bargaining dispute? 
  • Tips to avoid being ‘roped-in’ to multi-enterprise agreements  

  

  David Woodman

  Partner
  MinterEllison

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  David Woodman

  Partner
  MinterEllison

  Whether handling legal issues related to individual employees or the workforce as a whole, David is committed to helping clients achieve the best possible outcome for their organisation. In recent years, this has involved a particular focus on advising clients in relation to strategically significant matters such as enterprise bargaining, industrial disputes and the implementation of organisational change. 
   
  David is also an expert litigator, with extensive experience in successfully defending (or otherwise resolving) high-profile litigation against organisations and their senior executives. 

• 11:55 AM

  Positive duty and workplace sexual harassment prevention

  The latest reforms to the sexual harassment framework in the workplace puts the onus on the employer to prioritise prevention, with more changes expected. This session will examine the changes to employer obligations and worker protection in workplace sexual harassment and how to adopt a preventative approach.   

   

  • Outlining the key reforms to the prohibition against sexual harassment in the workplace 
  • Revising policies for a preventative approach and to remain compliant 
  • Examples of risk mitigation strategies such as regular training, refining the complaints handling procedure and assessing risk 
  • What’s next – additional recommendations from the Respect@Work report 

  

  Kellie-Ann McDade

  Partner
  Baker McKenzie

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  Kellie-Ann McDade

  Partner
  Baker McKenzie

  Kellie-Ann McDade is a partner in the Employment and Industrial Relations team at Baker McKenzie, Melbourne. Kellie-Ann joined the Firm in 2008 from the employment and industrial relations practice of another city law firm. She helps clients with a wide range of employment and industrial relations issues including advising on terminations, occupational health and safety and risk management, employee benefits and entitlements, anti-discrimination law, and changes to workplace legislation matters. 

• 12:40 PM

  Networking lunch

• 1:40 PM

  ‘Same job, same pay’ – labour hire update

  The federal government is proposing a new tranche of changes, including the introduction of a ‘same job, same pay’ obligation in the Fair Work Act affecting labour hire. This session will provide clarity on the scope and complexity of the new reform.

   

  • Understanding the use of criteria to determine ‘same job’ 
  • Tips on calculating ‘same pay’  
  • What future changes can we expect for this principle?

  

  Adam Foster

  Partner
  Colin Biggers & Paisley

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  Adam Foster

  Partner
  Colin Biggers & Paisley

  A partner in the employment and safety team since 2023, Adam advises his clients on best practice workplace policies and frameworks in employment and industrial relations law. 

  Adam helps his clients navigate the changes and issues that arise as employment and industrial relations laws change to ensure they have policies in place and are compliant from a regulatory perspective.  

  When problems or disputes arise, Adam’s clients value his calm manner and strategic approach. Adam is a ‘workplace problem solver’, and enjoys helping his clients find solutions to help improve workplace relationships to the benefit of the business and its employees. 

  Adam advises on policy and contract preparation and development, unfair dismissals, terminations, workplace investigations, general protections disputes, enterprise bargaining, modern slavery compliance, underpayment reviews and disputes to clients in industries including education, health, construction, manufacturing, professional services and the not for profit sector. 

• 2:20 PM

  Toxic behaviours and psychological risk

  Elements of workplace culture that reduce psychological risk have evolved from the ‘nice to have’ to ‘essential’, and employers have obligations to address unlawful and inappropriate behaviour that creates a psychological risk to employees.     

   

  • What are the latest legal requirements and changes to the law regarding protecting the psychological health of workers in workplaces?     
  • Employer obligations to address workplace behaviours resulting in risks of psychological injury – lessons from Bersee v. State of Victoria [2022] and Stevens v. DP World Melbourne Ltd [2022]     
  • What HR and business practices and arrangements present the greatest risks? – lessons from organisations and developing trends, including flexible work   

  

  Melinda Bell

  Partner
  Norton Rose Fulbright

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  Melinda Bell

  Partner
  Norton Rose Fulbright

  Melinda Bell is an employment and labour lawyer based in Melbourne. 

  Melinda has over 15 years’ experience providing strategic and practical advice on a range of employment and industrial relations law issues for clients in the public and private sectors. Her advice covers general employment law, commercial transactions, enterprise bargaining and industrial relations, underpayments issues and investigations. 

  Among Melinda’s clients are international and domestic organisations that are active in Australia. She has advised US and European companies conducting mergers and acquisitions in Australia, as well as transactions in the financial services, government, construction, real estate, retail and franchising sectors. She also regularly represents clients and advises on unfair dismissal, general protections and industrial dispute matters at the Fair Work Commission. 

• 3:00 PM

  Afternoon tea and refreshments break

• 3:30 PM

  The future of work – anticipating changes in the workplace

  There has been a massive change in workplace culture over the past several years, with employers dealing with increasing obligations to remain compliant. What workplace trends are we seeing, and how will this affect employment relations? What legal reforms can we expect in the coming year?

   

  • What are the potential implications of enforcing a 4-day work week? 
  • Clarity on the addition of the Right to Disconnect Bill to the National Employment Standards 
  • Mitigating risks with alternative working models, such as gig workers and remote workers 
  • Determining what constitutes as working ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ additional hours – lessons from Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union v Dick Stone Pty Ltd [2022] 

  

  Nick Ruskin

  Partner
  K&L Gates

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  Nick Ruskin

  Partner
  K&L Gates

  Nick Ruskin approaches workplace issues in an efficient, forthright and practical way. His enthusiasm for these areas of law is a hallmark of his practice. Nick has a preference for resolving disputes rather than engaging in unnecessary, technical and usually dissatisfying long game litigation. 

  His experience lies in healthcare, education, the public sector, retail and service industries with particular expertise in employment claims including workplace complaints and investigations, termination and discrimination law claims, labour disputes and advocacy before Tribunals. 

  Nick has been engaged as an external consultant to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, New York and Bangkok and has addressed an ILO forum at the United Nations on Australian labour standards. 

• 4:00 PM

  Discipline and termination: Lessons from the court

  One of Australia’s most prominent lawyers will discuss the key takeaways from the most influential cases of the last 12 months.

   

  • How have judges been ruling on termination cases?  
  • Trends in employee compensation rulings  
  • Lessons from the recent court decisions Alesia Khliustova v Isoton Pty Ltd [2023], United Workers’ Union v Bervar Pty Ltd (No 2) [2023], Mr Martin Pelly v. Ventia Australia Pty Ltd T/A Ventia [2023].

  

  Rick Catanzariti

  Partner
  DLA Piper

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  Rick Catanzariti

  Partner
  DLA Piper

  For more than 20 years, Rick has advised leading private and public sector clients in the complex area of workplace relations, discrimination, employment & occupational health and safety (OHS) law. 

  His experience covers the full spectrum of industrial relations, employment and discrimination litigation, in addition to advising on the management of employee issues, including in relation to corporate restructures, mergers and acquisitions. He brings an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Australian regulatory framework and combines excellent technical and analytical skills to help organisations to minimise their legal exposure and achieve their desired commercial outcomes. 

  Rick has advised on a number of significant industrial disputes in the former Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and regularly appears in the Fair Work Commission on behalf of his clients which range from public hospitals, tertiary institutions and Victorian and Federal Government departments to private companies in the electricity, health, manufacturing and labour hire industries. 

  Rick’s additional experience in privacy legislation and OHS gives him a complete understanding of workplace grievances and issues, enabling him to bring an innovative, holistic solution to problems. His breadth of knowledge in this area also enables him to bring a strategic focus to regulatory compliance issues. 

  Rick leads the Melbourne Employment team. 

• 4:30 PM

  Q&A: Addressing additional concerns in employment law

  In this interactive session, delegates will have the opportunity to ask the speaker questions relating to various employment law concerns.   

  

  Rick Catanzariti

  Partner
  DLA Piper

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  Rick Catanzariti

  Partner
  DLA Piper

  For more than 20 years, Rick has advised leading private and public sector clients in the complex area of workplace relations, discrimination, employment & occupational health and safety (OHS) law. 

  His experience covers the full spectrum of industrial relations, employment and discrimination litigation, in addition to advising on the management of employee issues, including in relation to corporate restructures, mergers and acquisitions. He brings an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Australian regulatory framework and combines excellent technical and analytical skills to help organisations to minimise their legal exposure and achieve their desired commercial outcomes. 

  Rick has advised on a number of significant industrial disputes in the former Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and regularly appears in the Fair Work Commission on behalf of his clients which range from public hospitals, tertiary institutions and Victorian and Federal Government departments to private companies in the electricity, health, manufacturing and labour hire industries. 

  Rick’s additional experience in privacy legislation and OHS gives him a complete understanding of workplace grievances and issues, enabling him to bring an innovative, holistic solution to problems. His breadth of knowledge in this area also enables him to bring a strategic focus to regulatory compliance issues. 

  Rick leads the Melbourne Employment team. 

• 4:45 PM

  Event concludes