Amy Leonard

Federal Government announces wage subsidy for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19

By Jason Noakes and Amy Leonard on March 30, 2020 Posted in Australia, Coronavirus

The Federal Government announced 30 March 2020 that it intends to pass legislation to introduce a wage subsidy, called the JobKeeper payment, for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19.… Continue reading

Coronavirus: An employment and WHS guide for the tourism and hospitality industry

By Martin Osborne, Amy Leonard and Matt Wichlinski on March 10, 2020 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia, Coronavirus

Australia, like many countries, continues to closely monitor the evolving coronavirus situation, caused by the outbreak of a novel coronavirus first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.… Continue reading

FIFO worker engaged as a casual entitled to annual leave

By Martin Osborne and Amy Leonard on September 13, 2018 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

A FIFO worker who was purportedly engaged as a “casual” under an enterprise agreement has successfully claimed an entitlement to annual leave under both the National Employment Standards (NES) and the terms of the enterprise agreement. The full Federal Court decision in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131 opens the way for further … Continue reading

Continuing reform of the Heavy Vehicle National Law – Now is the time to ensure you comply

By Amy Leonard on June 15, 2017 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

There has been significant activity recently in the area of safety regulation for the heavy vehicle transport industry (see our previous updates) and further reforms are on the way. In particular, key amendments to the chain of responsibility (CoR) and executive officer liability provisions in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) are set to commence in … Continue reading

High Court clarifies application of reasonable administrative action exclusion for workers’ compensation

By Amy Leonard on November 23, 2016 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

The High Court has recently clarified the application of the reasonable administrative action exclusion for workers’ compensation claims under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) (SRCA). The SCRA excludes liability to compensate an employee for an injury or condition suffered as a result of reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner. Reasonable … Continue reading

Obtaining alternative employment and redundancy pay: Does the offer meet the test of acceptability?

By Amy Leonard on July 28, 2016 Posted in Asia Pacific, Australia

If an employee is entitled to redundancy pay on termination, but their employer has obtained other acceptable employment for them, the employer can apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) to reduce (including to nil) the amount of redundancy pay that is due … Continue reading