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Rachel Drew

LLB (Hons), BA

Partner - Brisbane

Areas of Expertise

Workplace Relations & Safety, Immigration Law

Contact Rachel

+61 7 3135 0617 rachel.drew@holdingredlich.com

Expertise

Rachel is a highly experienced workplace lawyer specialising in employment & industrial relations issues, including industrial bargaining, workplace disputes, Federal Circuit Court & Fair Work Commission litigation, employee misconduct investigations, professional misconduct defence, business sponsorship and migration, defamation disputes, work health and safety, contract disputes, discrimination, managing discipline and dismissal, and transmission of business. 

Extensive industry experience in government, education, medical & allied health and construction & resources sectors. 

Certified professional member of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Registered Migration Agent specialising in successful business visas.

Specialties: 

  • workplace law
  • workplace misconduct and employee conduct investigations
  • Federal Circuit Court & Fair Work Commission disputes
  • business migration
  • industrial relations
  • public sector employment
  • work health and safety investigations.

Rachel has been listed in the 2014 to 2021 edition of Best Lawyers in Australia for Labour and Employment Law. She is also recognised in the 2020 edition of Doyles Guide as a recommended lawyer in Employment (Employer Representation for Queensland. She has also been included in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 Publication for Corporate/M&A.

Experience

Rachel’s key experience includes the following:

Employment and Industrial Relations

Preventing and resolving disputes, and representation of clients, in a range of State and Federal courts and industrial commission and tribunals, on matters including:

•  public sector employment issues

•  contractual claims

•  interpretation of industrial instruments

•  professional misconduct and dismissal issues 

•  discrimination and harassment complaints.

Workers’ compensation

  • managing more than 100 WorkCover claims each year, representing both workers and employers in the Industrial Magistrates Court and the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission at the review and appeal level
  • advising employers on WorkCover claims including obtaining factual evidence, advising on the correct level of compensation payable and rehabilitation obligations
  • acting for the Queensland Teachers Union and the Queensland Independent Education Union, representing many members in workers’ compensation claims and before the Medical Assessment Tribunals of WorkCover Queensland.

Work health and safety

  • prosecuting on behalf of Queensland Government Departments for work health & safety breaches, including all witness preparation, interlocutory applications and trial management 
  • representing employers and various levels of management in response to work health and safety incidents, including attending investigation interviews, responding to Infringement Notices and representation in court prosecutions.

Equal employment and opportunity

  • representing clients in the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland, QCAT and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Professional Bodies Registration Compliance and Disciplinary Issues

  •  advising professionals in relation to issues arising out of insurance coverage, professional registration and allegations of misconduct.

Publications

07 July 2020 - Knowledge

Slippery business: A slip during a work trip not compensable, says Federal Court

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A ruling from the Federal Court confirms an employee’s night out socialising during a work trip broke the connection with her employment, rendering her ineligible for workers’ compensation for an injury at 2:30am.

22 April 2020 - Knowledge

Employees beware – former employee’s social media posts prevent own claim succeeding

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission has highlighted one of social media’s many pitfalls by allowing an employer to rely on a former employee’s posts to defeat a general protections application.

21 April 2020 - Knowledge

Employer protected from security officer’s accidental resignation when attempting conversion to casual employment

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Casino Canberra successfully escaped an unfair dismissal claim of a permanent security officer who unintentionally resigned when seeking to become a casual employee

25 March 2020 - Knowledge

Inside track: Local Government

#Local Government

As the threat of COVID-19 continues to escalate, local governments across Australia have taken swift action to combat the virus, including recent legislative changes to elections and planning laws. In this article we examine some of those measures and other implications for Councils.

16 September 2019 - Knowledge

Care to share? Medicare’s new Shared Debt Recovery Scheme

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Medical practices beware! Medicare’s new Shared Debt Recovery Scheme requires secondary debtors to share in debts identified as a result of Medicare audits.

25 January 2019 - Knowledge

A lack of capacity to work can be a manifestation of a mental disability

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Employers who are concerned about an employee’s capacity to work need to take care when taking management action against them if they are suffering from an illness or disability.

14 January 2019 - Knowledge

New National Employment Standards entitlement to family and domestic violence leave

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Following recent changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), all employees can now take unpaid leave in order to deal with family and domestic violence. Previously, family and domestic violence leave was only available to employees covered by industry and occupation awards.

05 November 2018 - Knowledge

Preventing the HR hangover: Vicarious liability and the office Christmas party

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Businesses can be held to be vicariously liable for the actions of their employees at office Christmas functions. We set out some practical steps that your organisation can take to avoid the legal headaches that the silly season can bring.

18 September 2018 - Knowledge

The importance of proper training for employees

#Workplace Relations & Safety

The ACT Court of Appeal has recently upheld a Supreme Court decision to overturn an award of nearly $100,000 in damages for personal injuries in circumstances where it determined the employer provided adequate training to its employees.

10 September 2018 - Knowledge

Employee conduct outside of workplace increasingly a reason for termination

#Workplace Relations & Safety

It is increasingly common for remedies to be sought by employees who have lost their jobs due to their conduct utside of the workplace. A series of recent cases have highlighted the need for employers to proceed carefully when dealing with these situations. These cases also demonstrate that such conduct can, in many circumstances, be inconsistent with employment obligations.

13 August 2018 - Knowledge

What's News in Healthcare? – 13 August 2018

#Construction & Infrastructure

Cosmetic clinics are promoting lip fillers and encouraging women to pay for them using unregulated "quick and dirty" credit services such as Zip Pay in a practice the Medical Board vows to crack down on.

30 July 2018 - Knowledge

What's News in Healthcare? – 30 July 2018

#Construction & Infrastructure

Dr Bartone said there had been a groundswell of concern from AMA members, the broader medical profession, and the public about the 2012 legislation framing the My Health Record, particularly Section 70, which deals with the disclosure of health information for law enforcement purposes.

23 July 2018 - Knowledge

What's News in Immigration Law? – 23 July 2018

#Immigration Law

With modern slavery legislation at federal and state levels being introduced in Australia, and regulations and guidelines under development, here are the three most common questions and answers on this topic to help you build smarter supply chains.

Upcoming Seminars

11 Feb 20 to 10 Nov 20 - Brisbane

Brisbane Procurement seminar series 2020

This series will equip you with the knowledge and tools to buy and/or sell better, will ensure you remain compliant in this increasingly regulated environment, and will maximise your chances of success and beat off the competition.

Register now

28 Jul 20

Ensuring long term business survival and how to respond to the legacy of 2020

In this webinar, Paul Venus, Holding Redlich Queensland Managing Partner and Chris Cook, Partner of Worells Solvency & Forensic Accountants will outline how business owners and their advisors can get some confidence—when possible—beyond the crisis that the business will not be derailed by legacy debt.

Register now

04 Aug 20

Innovative procurement - ECI, MLPs and the rest - webinar

Within this webinar, we will discuss how choosing a non-traditional procurement model could be the better approach for your project, but you need to know what you are doing.

Register now
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