Team Members

Aiyana O’Meara

Senior Associate
Aiyana brings extensive experience advising a range of clients on employment relations, work health and safety, and dispute resolution matters.

Aiyana acts for clients across a broad range of sizes and industries, from small businesses to large enterprises, including employers in the public sector.

She offers clear and practical advice, tailored to each client’s specific needs. With a keen eye for detail, Aiyana simplifies complex issues to their essential points for easy client understanding. She adopts a strategic and collaborative approach to claim defence and resolution, consistently providing strong representation for her clients.

  • Solicitor – Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
  • Bachelor of Law – University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) – University of Queensland
  • Diploma of Arbitration – University of Vienna

Industrial and employment relations

  • Drafting, reviewing and advising on employment contracts, workplace policies, individual flexibility agreements, and deeds
  • Advising employers on compliance with modern awards, enterprise agreements and the Fair Work Act 2009
  • Managing ill and injured employees
  • Managing terminations of employment, including for misconduct and underperformance
  • Representing clients in the Fair Work Commission in unfair dismissal claims
  • Representing clients in the Fair Work Commission and Federal Courts in general protections claims
  • Representing clients in discrimination claims, including matters before the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission and Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Work health and safety

  • Representing clients in Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigations, including attending interviews
  • Responding to requests for information from the Regulator
  • Defending work health and safety prosecutions, including pre-trial charge negotiations and at trial

Areas of Expertise

Publications

Full Bench confirms non-parties can appeal an arbitrated dispute

A Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that a person or organisation who was not a party to a workplace dispute or arbitration of that dispute can appeal the Commission’s arbitrated decision in certain circumstances. The decision, arising from a childcare classification dispute, has implications for any organisation operating under a modern award or enterprise agreement that facilitates resolution by arbitration.

Queensland's Reportable Conduct Scheme: What schools need to know

Queensland's Reportable Conduct Scheme is now in force, requiring reporting entities, including schools, to identify, report and investigate allegations of child abuse or child-related misconduct made about workers.

First right to disconnect rulings clarify the bar for a contravention of the right to disconnect laws

The Fair Work Act's right to disconnect provisions have finally been tested, and the result offers employers some comfort, but not a free pass.