Alison Baker

Partner

Qualifications: LLB (Hons), BBehSc

Industries

Practices

'Alison is very responsive and a pleasure to work with. I would definitely use her again and would have no hesitation in recommending her services to other in-house colleagues.' – Emma Braun, Dairy Australia

Alison has more than 20 years’ experience in a wide-ranging employment practice, advising private sector and public sector clients on all aspects of employment, industrial relations and human resources law, and work health and safety law. She also advises private and public sector organisations on the application of privacy legislation.

Alison has been recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia in employee benefits law every year since 2014 and as a recommended employment lawyer in Victoria in Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession and the 2020 edition of the Legal 500 Asia Pacific.  She has been a finalist in 2016 and 2017 for the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards, Workplace Relations.

Clients appreciate the easy-to-deal-with and solutions-focused approach that Alison brings when assisting them to navigate a complex and highly regulated legal environment.  Alison provides legal advice and assistance that is technically excellent but which always gives consideration to a client’s goals and imperatives, including financial, commercial and reputational considerations.

Alison advises a broad cross-section of private sector and public sector clients, including large corporate entities, small-to-medium enterprises, universities, local government, government agencies and statutory corporations.

Experience

  • Employment and Industrial Relations
    • Providing strategic advice on compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), including advice on the National Employment Standards and modern awards.
    • Advising on, and assisting with the bargaining and implementation of, enterprise agreements in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
    • Drafting and advising on terms and conditions of employment for all levels of employees, including executive service agreements for executive level employees.
    • Advising on the use of independent contractor arrangements and drafting independent contractor agreements.
    • Advising on the restraint and confidentiality obligations of former employees and acting for employers where their former employees have breached their restraint and confidentiality obligations.
    • Advising on the transfer of business rules under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
    • Advising on compliance with State and Federal anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation, including workplace policy formulation and implementation, and acting for employers in the defence of discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying claims.
    • Advising on the effective performance management and disciplining of employees, including advising on termination of employment strategies and negotiated exits.
    • Acting in industrial relations and employment litigation including bullying claims, unfair dismissal claims, unlawful termination claims, general protections claims, and common law disputes.
    • Conducting workplace training and education on employment issues.
    • Advised NewCold on its acquisition of the Karras Group.
  • Privacy
    • Advised Deluxe Small Business Sales, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NYSE-listed Deluxe Corporation, on the sale of all its shares in Hostopia Australia Holding Co Pty Ltd to Newfold Digital, Inc.
    • Advised UK-headquartered international architectural practice Weston Williamson + Partners on the Australian aspects of the company’s sale to major consulting and engineering group Egis.
    • Advising organisations on, and assisting organisations with, compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and various State privacy and surveillance legislation, including advising on and drafting privacy policies, internal privacy guidelines, privacy terms in supplier contracts, and data transfer deeds.
    • Conducting presentations and training workshops on privacy obligations and compliance, including staff compliance training.
    • Assisting organisations with responding to breach of privacy claims.
  • FOI legislation
    • Advising organisations on issues arising under Freedom of Information legislation including:
      • advising on public sector organisations’ obligations to provide access to documents;
      • the applicability of exemptions to access under FOI legislation; and
      • drafting submissions in response to requests for information made under FOI legislation.
  • Protected disclosure legislation
    • Assisting organisations with responding to investigations by the Victorian Ombudsman into alleged improper conduct and breaches of the Victorian Protected Disclosure Act 2012.
    • Assisting public sector entities regarding compliance with the Protected Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic) and the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2011 (Vic), and with the management and response to disclosures made under the Protected Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic).

Awards and recognition

Best Lawyers in Australia 2014-2024
Recognised – Employee Benefits Law
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2023 & 2024
Recommended – Data Protection
Doyle's Guide to the Australian Legal Profession 2020-2021
Leading Workplace Health & Safety Lawyers – (Victoria)
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 and 2022
Recommended – Labour and Employment & Data Protection
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020
Recommended – Labour and Employment

Latest thinking

Employment & Workplace Relations | 13 Mar 2024

The aftermath of COVID-19 – Can I ask my employees to come back to the office now?

The law is recognising that societal views and attitudes are changing with regards to the way people perform work.

Related event

Public Law National Webinar Series 2022

Event Details

1.00pm - 2.00pm

On-demand