Meet Our Team
Emma has worked in employment law and industrial relations for the past 20 years.
Emma’s diverse experience includes several years as a senior associate in the workplace relations practices of three top tier Australian law firms and at EY, work in industrial relations roles with the Victorian government, three years with the Fair Work Ombudsman (including as a Principal Lawyer), work with the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association, and time spent in house with a major manufacturing employer. As a result, Emma has gained experience in dealing with the full spectrum of employment and industrial relations matters from a range of different perspectives, enabling her to assess and advise members on the most effective ways to respond to the issues facing them.
Emma has particular interest and expertise in adverse action and workplace rights matters arising under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). She is a co-author of the textbook General Protections under the Fair Work Act (Lexis Nexis, 2019), and regularly lectures on the subject at Monash University. She is presently working on a book focusing on termination of employment. Emma has also published extensively in a range of legal journals and the encyclopaedia Halsbury’s Laws of Australia on a wide range of employment law and industrial relations matters. She is the treasurer of the Australian Labour Law Association, and an editor of the Australian Journal of Labour Law.
Emma practices in all areas of employment, industrial and discrimination law. However, in addition to her interest in the general protections provisions, Emma has an interest and significant experience in award and enterprise agreement interpretation and application; privacy law in the employment context; long service leave; dealing with transitional issues and instruments; compliance and enforcement issues; unfair dismissal; bargaining; industrial action; and issues relating to executive remuneration.