Maddocks

Background

Darren has a distinguished career and has played a lead role in a number of precedent cases influencing the development of IR/HR management in Australia.

He has considerable expertise in anti-discrimination and harassment prevention, appearing for clients in court and tribunal proceedings and drawing on his previous experience as counsel assisting the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) as well as at the Privacy Commission.

Darren is acknowledged by clients for providing practical and commercial advice to protect client interests and to achieve their IR, HR, EEO, privacy and workplace safety objectives.

Legal Expertise

  • Anti-discrimination and harassment prevention
  • Equal employment opportunity policies and practises
  • Executive service agreements
  • Industrial dispute resolution and workplace agreements
  • Occupational health and safety
  • Termination of employment and performance management

Relevant Experience

Darren's most recent relevant experience includes:

  • Specialist employment law and anti-discrimination law advice for the Department of Defence in a number of matters, including convincing a plaintiff firm to withdraw proceedings of alleged unlawful termination.
  • Successful appeal result for the NSW Department of Health on the status of the AMA as an industrial dispute proceedings.
  • Advising APRA and its staff consultative committee on workplace agreement negotiations and the drafting of suitable and compliant workplace agreement terms.
  • Successfully defending a university client against claims of alleged disability discrimination forcing early withdrawal of the complaint.
  • Advocacy in trials and appeals, including in the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of NSW, Federal Court of Australia, NSW Industrial Relations Court in Olson v Woolworths in respect of a disputed employment restraint covenant.
  • Mediation of highly sensitive senior executive dispute involving allegations of sexual harassment.
  • Providing early intervention advice in a workplace fatality matter, including assisting management of the client with legal representation in WorkCover interviews and in subsequent prosecution proceedings against the employer in the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW.
  • Providing bespoke in-house performance management and termination procedures training to HR specialists of Australia's largest general insurer, IAG.
  • Privacy compliance advice for a client that suffered a major unexpected IT systems failure.