Biography

Ira advises Commonwealth government and private sector clients in all areas of employment, industrial relations and work health and safety law.

She assists clients to understand employee entitlements, manage organisational change, and mitigate the legal risks associated with disciplinary, performance management and termination of employment processes. She advises Commonwealth government clients on all aspects of enterprise bargaining including industrial strategy, agreement drafting and dealing with industrial action.

Ira undertakes complex and sensitive workplace investigations in a trauma-informed manner. She produces robust investigation reports including in relation to potential breaches of employer Codes of Conduct and public interest disclosures.

Ira represents clients in employment-related disputes including unfair dismissal applications, general protections claims, discrimination complaints, industrial disputes and high-profile sensitive civil claims including against Parliamentarians.

With experience working in both private practice and the public service, Ira understands the different considerations relevant to decision-making in government and the private sector. She provides practical tailored advice to support her clients to mitigate legal risk and make defensible decisions appropriate for their operating environment. Ira has a reputation for being an intelligent, dedicated and responsive lawyer who is trusted to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely advice.

Credentials

Academic  qualifications

• Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Australian National University
• Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Australian National University

Memberships

• Member – Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association

Ira's  experience

Employment advice

Advises on employee entitlements (e.g. parental leave, allowances, time off in lieu, flextime, shift worker provisions, redundancies and major change consultation) and managing administrative and disciplinary processes including for Senior Executive Service employees and Chief Executive Officers (e.g. performance management, misconduct, fitness for duty, lawful and reasonable directions and termination of employment including summary dismissal and revocation of statutory appointments).

Enterprise bargaining and industrial action

Drafts enterprise agreements and determinations setting terms and conditions of employment, advises on better-off-overall test issues, prepares documentation necessary for enterprise agreement approval, advises on communication and industrial relations strategy and assists to navigate protected industrial action, good faith bargaining disputes and applications for scope orders.

Work health and safety

Assists in identifying and managing work health and safety risks including psychosocial hazards, responding to and managing workers' compensation claims, engaging with regulators and delivering training on obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth).

Workplace investigations

Conducts preliminary assessments, review of action, investigations into suspected breaches of employer Codes of Conduct and integrity investigations in accordance with the requirements of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) and National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (Cth).

Litigation and dispute resolution

Advises and represents clients to defend applications for unfair dismissal remedies, general protections claims, discrimination complaints, breach of contract, disputes arising under enterprise agreements and civil claims including high-profile claims against Parliamentarians in the Australian Human Rights Commission, ACT Human Rights Commission, ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Fair Work Commission, Federal Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia.