Nick is a market leading workplace and safety practitioner in Queensland, having advised on contentious workplace and safety matters for over 30 years.
For much of his career, Nick has been positioned at the forefront of workplace and safety execution in some of the most difficult industrial settings.
Nick has a wealth of experience in aviation, rail, mining, logistics, finance, health, education and hospitality in both private practice and industry. Nick also has extensive public sector experience.
As former executive general counsel at Queensland Rail and former general manager, workplace relations at Virgin Australia, Nick has a unique insight into the practical application of workplace and safety law in business.
Key deals
Industrial strategy and execution
- Strategic advice about enterprise bargaining in large scale industrial campaigns, particularly those involving the implementation of transformational reform. Conduct of associated litigation with unions.
- Implementation of restructures and other major change, including strategies for effective consultation and stakeholder management.
- Advice about the implementation of different labour models and strategies to maximise employee productivity and engagement and minimise disputation and unrest.
Safety
- Advice about the exercise of powers by safety regulators and unions and mechanisms to challenge or overturn actions and decisions by safety regulators.
- Advice about the management of major safety incidents, including attending to immediate incident response, commissioning safety investigations, dealing with safety regulators, unions and other stakeholders and acting in safety related litigation, including prosecutions and coronial inquests.
- Advice about the effective discharge of safety obligations by businesses, their Boards and senior leadership and strategies to improve safety performance while at the same time managing regulatory and reputational risk.
Employment
- Executive replacement and the structuring of executive remuneration and benefits.
- Sensitive investigations and the effective management of executive and employee conduct and performance.
- Pre- and post-acquisition business restructuring and employment and safety due diligence in corporate transactions.
- Conduct of large-scale wage remediation projects and engagement with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
- Advice about the implementation of labour and regulatory reform.
- Representation and advocacy in employment related litigation.