Annie Smeaton

Industrial relations/employment relations

• Presenting at Legalwise School Law seminar 2019
• Presenting at TEN annual School Law Regulation Conference 2019
• Providing front end strategic employment and industrial relations advice, drafting and negotiating enterprise agreements and defending dispute and other claims brought by the union and individual workers in the transport and logistics sector.
• Representing a large corporation in Federal Court proceedings concerning alleged adverse action under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), including defending interlocutory orders.
• Acting for a number of clients defending unfair dismissal applications before the AIRC, Fair Work Commission and the QIRC.
• Representing a client in Fair Work Australia in regard to majority support determinations, scope orders and disputes under the Enterprise Agreements.
• Advising on a number of Queensland public services matters, including industrial disputes, ill health retirement, anti-discrimination and disciplinary matters.
• Advising a Queensland GOC on a number of workplace incidents, including undertaking comprehensive workplace investigations, managing ill and injured employees, and employee discipline matters.
• Advising a variety of health professionals in regard to employment and registration matters.
• Assisting clients to make and have enterprise agreements, including through the approval stage at the Fair Work Commission.
• Acting for corporate clients in drafting employment contracts, conditions and executive service contracts and termination or redundancy arrangements, and providing advice on appointment processes; this includes drafting a CEO service agreement for a Queensland local authority.
• Advising a variety of non-state schools in Queensland about a variety of matters under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), including negotiating and making a new enterprise agreement, general protections and dismissal as well as anti-discrimination in education and the workplace.
• Representing a corporate client in the Federal Court concerning the protection of confidential information and enforce of restraint of trade provisions.
• Providing advice to many clients about performance management, termination and redundancy of executive and non-executive employees and ill and injured employees.

Transport and Logistics

• Providing industrial relations advice concerning union right of entry, enterprise agreements, including negotiating and making agreements and the application and interpretation of the Road Transport Awards.
• Defending general protections applications and interlocutory proceedings in the Federal Court and disputes lodged by the union before the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and Fair Work Commission.
• Assisting transport operators manage ill and injured drivers and other workers and advising about workers’ compensation.
• Assisting transport operators undertake disciplinary and performance management of staff and defending unfair dismissal and discrimination applications.
• Preparing and implementing workplace policies tailored for the transport industry, including fatigue management, random drug and alcohol testing, work health and safety & NHVR and driver codes of conduct.
• Preparing employment contracts and independent contractor agreements, advising about restraint of trade.
• Advising about the application of the Federal Independent Contractors Act 2006 and applicable State laws.

Education, health and regulatory

• Undertaking workplace incident investigations and preparing incident investigation reports.
• Assisting clients in the non-state school sector deal with student protection matters, parent committee disputes, parent complaints, teacher misconduct and anti-discrimination.
• Considering mandatory reporting obligations in education and other regulatory requirements, including Queensland College of Teacher matters.
• Providing compliance training to a client following a reportable incident
• Acting for large insurers providing advice to registered medical practitioners in the areas of employment, credentialing, AHPRA notifications, College matters.