Current PracticeMelinda has experience in a broad range of litigious and non litigious employment law matters including:
- drafting and advising on workplace agreements, enterprise agreements, contracts of employment and independent contractor agreements;
- negotiating with unions on workplace agreements and enterprise agreements;
- drafting and advising on workplace policies and procedures, including human resource manuals;
- acting for and appearing on behalf of employers in various tribunals and courts including the Federal Court of Australia, the County Court of Victoria, the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and Fair Work Australia;
- advising on employment aspects of commercial transactions;
- providing advice on termination of employment including employee performance management, restructuring and redundancy, unfair and unlawful termination claims, equal opportunity and discrimination;
- advising on the application and operation of awards and modern awards; and
- advising on changes and compliance with workplace relations laws, most recently the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and its transitional arrangements.
ExperienceExamples of Melinda’s recent experience include:
- drafting and assisting in the implementation of collective agreements for a large financial institution;
- appearing on behalf of a manufacturing employer in a redundancy dispute in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission;
- reviewing and updating contracts of employment and policies and procedures and developing communication strategies for compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth); and
- acting on behalf of a restaurateur in the resolution of a dispute with the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman to reverse the outcome of no-disadvantage test assessment of a workplace agreement.
Melinda acts on behalf of and advises a broad cross section of small to large private and public enterprises, including franchises, manufacturers, retailers, overseas entities and banks. QualificationsMelinda has a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from Deakin University.
Melinda is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria. |