Jackie Hamilton

Expertise

Jackie is a Special Counsel in our Dispute Resolution & Litigation team specialising in workplace law. She has extensive advisory and litigation experience in the areas of discrimination law, workplace law, industrial law, discipline matters and WorkCover appeals/reviews and has appeared in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, Industrial Court, Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland (now the Queensland Human Rights Commission), Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Appeal Tribunal, Queensland Court of Appeal and Australian Human Rights Commission, Federal Circuit Court, Federal Court of Australia, Full Federal Court of Australia and High Court of Australia. Jackie also has experience in defending class actions in the Federal Court of Australia.

Experience

Jackie has over 20 years of legal experience and has provided advice on and represented clients in a broad range of employment, discrimination and industrial relations issues, including:

• defending the State and individually named respondents in numerous complaints of discrimination, victimisation and sexual harassment
• defending the State in applications for reinstatement brought by former employees
• defending the State in claims of adverse action and bullying
• defending the State in dispute notifications in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
• defending the State in a fair treatment appeal in relation to a large scale recruitment process
• providing employment advice on:
  • Queensland Government policies and risk management
  • an employer’s obligations to rehabilitate an injured worker
  • a number of significant discipline matters under the Public Service Act 2008, including drafting key documents relied on in the discipline processes
  • suspending an employee
  • the legal risks associated with employing or refusing to employ a person with an injury
  • advising on various protections and obligations under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010
  • employees’ entitlements under contract and statute
  • employment contracts
  • statutory appointments
  • the process to retire an employee with ill health
  • the operation of various provisions under the Public Service Act 2008
  • whether the private interests of certain employees conflict with their official work duties
  • whether certain action taken or proposed to be taken is discriminatory
  • whether certain departmental procedures have a discriminatory or potentially discriminatory effect
  • complaints of official misconduct under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 (repealed) and the Crime and Corruption Act 2001
  • unauthorised appointments
  • recovery of overpayment of wages
  • criminal history checks and the process to be followed in conducting criminal history checks
  • workplace bullying
  • employee complaints and grievances.