Stephen Silvapulle
Clayton Utz
Special Counsel
Melbourne
Overview
Stephen is an experienced and trusted adviser to public and private sector clients across the full spectrum of employment, safety and industrial relations matters, including on recruitment and termination, employment compliance, enterprise bargaining strategy, workplace change initiatives, complex case management, and workplace investigations.
He also provides advice and litigation support to employers in relation to dismissal and bargaining related proceedings, including applications to stop industrial action.
Notable Work
- Higher education: advised numerous clients on modern award and enterprise agreement interpretation and compliance, including Monash University, Monash College, La Trobe University, Australian National University, the Australian Catholic University and a range of additional organisations within the sector. This included advice and litigation support for the Group of 8 Universities during the four-yearly review of modern awards.
- Department of Justice and Community Safety: providing advice and litigation support on a high -rofile intractable bargaining dispute between the United Firefighters' Union of Australia and Fire Rescue Victoria.
- Victorian Health Services: advising over in the defence of over 20 class actions commenced in the Federal Court seeking penalties and to recover alleged unpaid un-rostered overtime said to be owed to junior doctors.
- Major projects: advising on safety and industrial relations issues affecting projects being delivered by the Victorian Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Melbourne Airport Rail Link and Cross River Rail Project, including in relation to incident management, RSNL compliance and industrial relations strategy.
- Internationally renowned manufacturer: advised and assisted on the downsizing of its Australian operations.
- Public and private sector clients: provided advice, assistance and representation on all aspects of workplace relations for clients within the health, pharmaceutical, insurance, manufacturing, warehousing, energy, logistics, performance & digital entertainment and retail sectors. This includes help-desk advice on enterprise bargaining, performance management and disciplinary processes, and related Fair Work Commission processes.
- Victorian statutory authority: assisted with various disputes arising under equal opportunity legislation, and subsequent workplace change initiatives to improve diversity and culture in regional Victoria.
- Department of Health: lead adviser in the last three rounds of public health bargaining, covering the agreements for Nurses, Mental Health Workers, Health and Allied Service Workers, Managers and Administrative Workers, Medical Scientists, Pharmacists, Psychologists, Allied Health Professionals, Dentists, Maintenance Workers, Biomedical Engineers, Forensicare, Doctors, and medical specialists.
- Office of the Director General: advises the Office (and key stakeholders from the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet and Industrial Relations Victoria) on key industrial relations issues and legislative change.
- Emergency Services organisation: assisted with its suite of high-profile and complex industrial relations disputes, including enterprise bargaining negotiations, work value arbitration, and successful applications to stop industrial action.
Insights
VPS Enterprise Agreement 2024: what’s old, what’s new, and what changes do you need to see through?
20 Aug 2024 | Article
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Reminder: Deadline for deletion of COVID-19 vaccination information in Victoria
17 Jul 2023 | Article
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Jobs & Skills Summit 2022 – reform agenda for Australia’s labour market
1 Sep 2022 | Article
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New mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for Victorian authorised workers
8 Oct 2021 | Article
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Get ready for Victoria's new right to entry laws which allow unions to record potential breaches
21 Sep 2021 | Article
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New VPS Enterprise Agreement commences operation today, so time to understand what changes you need to make
9 Oct 2020 | Article
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Industrial manslaughter now a crime in Victoria with maximum penalties of $16.5m and 20 years' jail – are you ready?
28 Nov 2019 | Article
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