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Charles Power

LLB, BEc (Hons)

Managing Partner - Melbourne

Areas of Expertise

Workplace Relations & Safety

Contact Charles

+61 3 9321 9942 charles.power@holdingredlich.com Connect

Expertise

Charles draws on over 25 years of skills, expertise and experience in workplace relations and safety law and is the firm’s state managing partner for Victoria. In addition to legal practice, Charles has served as an associate to a senior deputy president of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and as a Canberra-based adviser to a federal government minister.

Since 2021 Charles has been a director of Victorian public health agency, Oral Health Victoria, and is also chair of its audit and risk committee.

Charles was accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria in 2006 as a workplace relations specialist. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Employment Law Practical Handbook, with over 4,000 subscribers nationally.

Charles has been recognised as a 5-Star Employment Lawyer by Australasian Lawyer. He has also been recognised by The Best Lawyers in Australia for Labour and Employment Law since 2013, Employee Benefits Law since 2020 and in the 2027 edition for Occupational Health and Safety Law. In 2021 Best Lawyers awarded Charles Lawyer of the Year in the Employee Benefits field. Charles has also been recognised since the 2022 edition of Doyle’s Guide as a leading lawyer in Employment (Employer Representation) for Victoria.

Charles gives legal advice and representation to organisations and individuals in all areas of the discipline, including:

  • minimising legal risks associated with recruitment, including advice and drafting documents to address legal exposure to trade practices, discrimination and privacy laws, in advertising for, and interviewing and selecting candidates
  • negotiating, drafting, implementing and enforcing employment contracts, human resources policies and procedures and enterprise agreements
  • protecting intellectual property, confidential information and goodwill through drafting and implementing appropriate contractual provisions, and enforcing them where necessary
  • managing and regulating employee behaviours in a legally effective manner through development and implementation of appropriate human resources policies, procedures and guidelines; disciplinary and performance management actions
  • minimising legal exposure in workplace change, including compliance with consultation and dispute resolution requirements, redundancy, retrenchment and redeployment, and transfer of business and outsourcing/insourcing
  • dealing with requirements of law and best practice in managing the interaction between work on the one hand and family and disability on the other
  • wrongful and unfair dismissal, general protections, sexual harassment and discrimination complaints
  • compliance with industrial and workplace health and safety laws and represents them in investigations and prosecutions undertaken by the regulators
  • enterprise bargaining, good faith requirements, capacity for tribunal intervention, protected (and unprotected) industrial action, making and implementing agreements. 

Experience

Corporate

Charles has extensive experience providing legal services to corporate clients in the fields of workplace relations, occupational health and safety, and people and culture experience. Examples of his recent experience include:

  • advising Crown Resorts Limited on key aspects of industrial relations, including collective bargaining for multiple agreements across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, representation in Fair Work Commission proceedings, and strategic advice to management
  • supporting Citywide Services for many years with all of its employment and industrial law requirements, including making and enforcing its enterprise agreements, implementing and enforcing mandatory vaccination policies, workplace investigations and conducting payroll audits
  • advising Mazda Australia to meet its employment and industrial law requirements
  • representing Omnicom Oceania in complex employment disputes
  • advising Cargill Australia Limited, providing comprehensive employment and industrial law advice on issues such as workers’ compensation, superannuation, enterprise agreement interpretation, and enterprise bargaining.

Government

Charles has represented numerous public sector employers and is well-versed in the laws and policies that regulate employment and industrial relations in State and Federal public sector. His experience includes:

  • representing the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in significant workplace relations proceedings before the Fair Work Commission concerning labour hire arrangements
  • representing Services Australia/Comcover in a complex general protections dispute, as well as advising in relation to enterprise agreement compliance
  • supporting the Department of Parliamentary Services and National Gallery of Australia in enterprise bargaining
  • providing to Greyhound Racing Victoria strategic legal support across a range of matters, including mediation services, award interpretation and enterprise agreement advice
  • acted on Bureau of Meteorology/Comcover to defend an unfair dismissal claim made by ex-public servant retrenched from Commonwealth agency
  • advising Department of Defence in relation to confidential industrial relations issues of significant strategic importance.

Membership

Member of Australian Human Resources Institute

Appointments

Advisory Board - Centre for Employment & Labour Relations Law, University of Melbourne
Chair, Workplace Relations Specialisation Committee, Law Institute of Victoria
Board member, Dental Health Services Victoria
Former Board member, Early Learning Association Australia 

Publications

18 August 2026 - Knowledge

Gillham ruling highlights importance of a clear policy regarding political messages

#Workplace Relations & Safety

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) protects rights and benefits arising under Australian statutes that regulate employment relationships. The decision in Gillham v Melbourne Symphony Orchestra confirms this protection does not apply in respect of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), in its application to independent contractors or employees.

17 June 2026 - Knowledge

Victoria moves to legislate right to work from home

#Workplace Relations & Safety

The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 introduces a statutory right for eligible employees to work from home two days a week. If passed, the legislation will commence on 1 September 2026.

17 June 2026 - Knowledge

Australian Government releases 2026 Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy

#Workplace Relations & Safety, #Australian Government

The new policy sets out the parameters for enterprise bargaining across APS and Non-APS agencies and will kick-start APS-wide enterprise bargaining ahead of agreements expiring in late 2026 and early 2027. We discuss the key requirements for agencies.

05 June 2026 - Knowledge

Missing the red flag: Lessons from ASIC v Bekier & Ors for company directors

#Workplace Relations & Safety

We highlight six key lessons from the Federal Court’s decision in ASIC v Bekier & Ors, which clarifies the standard of care and diligence expected of company directors under section 180(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

04 March 2026 - Knowledge

Getting costs in Fair Work Act proceedings requires careful planning

#Workplace Relations & Safety

If a party loses in a Fair Work Act proceeding after rejecting a reasonable settlement offer, the successful party may be able to recover some of their costs under section 570 of the Act. However, a recent Federal Court decision highlights the steps that need to be taken to improve the prospects of costs recovery.

16 February 2026 - Knowledge

Managing psychological risks in the workplace: Why policies alone are no longer sufficient

#Workplace Relations & Safety

Following the commencement of the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 in Victoria, employers will be required to shift away from policy‑led approaches towards more proactive changes to how work is designed, managed and performed.

17 November 2025 - Knowledge

Victoria moves to restrict NDAs in workplace sexual harassment cases

#Workplace Relations & Safety

The Restricting Non-disclosure Agreements (Sexual Harassment at Work) Bill 2025 aims to limit the use of NDAs that silence workplace sexual harassment victims, providing disclosure rights, cooling-off periods and termination options.

18 September 2025 - Knowledge

Navigating the implications of the supermarkets ruling: A guide for employers

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A Federal Court ruling concerning Coles and Woolworths highlights the challenges facing employers when using annualised salaries for award-covered employees. We share the implications of this decision and highlight practices employers can follow to avoid legal risk and ensure fair employee compensation.

15 July 2025 - Knowledge

No clause, no comfort: Court reinforces implied notice obligations for employers

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A recent Federal Court decision reminds employers that section 117 of the Fair Work Act prescribes the minimum notice period but does not confer a right to terminate. Instead, that right should be expressly set out in the employment contract or otherwise there is a risk that reasonable notice will be implied.

24 June 2025 - Knowledge

Workplace surveillance could be changing – what do employers need to know?

#Workplace Relations & Safety, #Data & Privacy, #Digital Economy

The technology enabling workplace surveillance is becoming more sophisticated and widespread. The Victorian Government’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee has proposed 18 recommendations following its inquiry into workplace surveillance, which could prompt reform in how employers approach and manage employee monitoring.

18 May 2025 - Knowledge

Political expression and workplace protections – defining the boundaries

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A recent case following a contracted musician being dismissed for their political statements raises the question of whether the protections under the Equal Opportunity Act extends to independent contractors under the Fair Work Act.

19 March 2025 - Knowledge

Navigating enterprise bargaining: Tactics and strategies

#Workplace Relations & Safety

We explore the tactics and strategies employers can adopt to achieve their bargaining objectives.

12 November 2024 - Knowledge

Who let the dog out? The hidden hazards of remote work

#Workplace Relations & Safety

A recent case serves as a timely reminder that employers’ responsibility can extend to injuries sustained by employees while working from home – including during authorised breaks – and that home offices can be considered a workplace under work health and safety laws.

Upcoming Seminars

30 Apr 26 to 14 Oct 26 - Brisbane

2026 Project Lifecycle series

From procurement to completion: managing risk across the life of a project

Register now

12 May 26 to 10 Nov 26 - Canberra

2026 Legal Procurement Series

Our 2026 Legal Procurement Series aims to explore key legal challenges in procurement and is specifically designed for Commonwealth Government lawyers and APS staff engaged in procurement activities. This series will be led by Special Counsel, Samantha Haddon. Samantha is a commercial lawyer specialising in Government procurement and contracting, with extensive experience advising Commonwealth entities throughout the procurement lifecycle. She is an expert in Commonwealth procurement policies and has worked on major projects, including critical infrastructure and health services, complex ICT services, and Whole of Australian Government panel arrangements.  The webinars are being offered as a value add under the Whole of Australian Government Legal Panel arrangement, and we encourage you to forward this invitation to your colleagues that would also be interested in attending.

Register now

23 Sep 26

Insurance in the construction industry webinar

Size matters: The fallacy of asking for a big limit of cover In the next instalment of our 2026 Construction & Infrastructure webinar series, Insurance in the construction industry, partner Helena Golovanoff will: 1. review how to interrogate certificates of currency – especially where multiple policies are being used to meet a limit of cover 2. outline a neutral approach to determining appropriate limits of cover 3. discuss some emerging trends regarding insurance requirements. This topic is for construction industry participants who feel they don’t know as much about negotiating around insurance as they should or would like a refresher. The one-hour online session will help you discuss and negotiate on insurance-related issues with confidence. Registration for this presentation is complimentary and we encourage you to forward this invitation to your colleagues. We hope you can join us.

Register now

Holding Redlich respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate as the continuing custodians of this land. We recognise their continuing connection to Country, practices, knowledge systems and communities. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present.

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