Employment, Discrimination and Equality Lawyers Geelong & Melbourne

Our priority is supporting you to create safer, more inclusive, and respectful workplaces, businesses, and communities.

We understand that workplace, discrimination, and equality law is constantly evolving. It is increasingly difficult to assess and ensure compliance with multiple obligations that arise under different, but related, areas of law such as the Fair Work Act, state and Commonwealth discrimination and human rights legislation, and gender equality reporting laws.

We offer specialist expertise to help you better address discrimination, harassment, and gender equality issues. To do this we work with you to understand your workplace or business and its specific risk factors. We can assist you develop a compliance solution to meet broader organisational needs, including diversity and inclusion reporting obligations, or a legal strategy to manage a particular issue or dispute.

Complaints relating to workplace harm such as discrimination and sexual harassment are often complex and sensitive. It is important to respond in a way that is both legally compliant and people centric. We have the expertise to assist you to respond in a way that considers individual wellbeing and broader organisational reputation and legal risk.

We can assist with:

• Employment, discrimination and gender equality compliance including risk assessments and policy and strategy development
• Policy and contract review and drafting, including casual, permanent and independent contracts
• Sale of business employment advice
• Unfair dismissal, general protections and discrimination complaints under the Fair Work Act
• Sexual harassment under the Fair Work Act and Sex Discrimination Act
• Discrimination (race, disability, age, gender identity, religion etc) complaints under state and Commonwealth legislation
• Discrimination in sport, education, accommodation, and services
• Special measures and exemptions from discrimination laws
• Disability action planning
• Human Rights Charter compliance and advice
• Gender equality reporting and action planning
• Trauma informed investigations and redress schemes

Relevant experience of our lawyers includes:

• Represented a major financial services client in a federal disability discrimination proceeding
• Advised a large health services provider in relation to allegations of systemic sexual harassment and sexual assault
• Successfully represented multiple respondents in a sexual harassment dismissal application in the Federal Court, including an application for costs
• Advised a national not for profit on obtaining a discrimination exemption so they could advertise and recruit designated women only roles for a social enterprise
• Drafted a disability action plan pursuant to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) for a major insurer
• Developed a gender diverse inclusion strategy for a major sporting organisation