Julian Arndt

A Director in our Sydney team, Julian is an experienced employment lawyer and industrial advocate.

He has practised in employment and industrial law for more than 16 years, with specialist expertise in the Fair Work Act, the Fair Work Commission and the NSW owner-driver jurisdiction.

Industrial Advocacy

Alongside his colleagues at ABLA, he has uniquely deep experience acting for peak employer associations in large-scale industrial test cases.

In 2020, Julian appeared as the lead advocate for employer interests in the Paid Pandemic Leave test case.

Over the past decade, Julian has acted as lead or secondary advocate in a range of prominent test case proceedings including the childcare industry case, the retail industry junior rates case, the family friendly work test case, the casual and part-time test case and many others.

Employment Law and Employee Claims

Julian advises on employment contracts and policies, modern award and enterprise agreement interpretation and entitlements, managing underperformance, misconduct and incapacity and on company restructures.  

Julian regularly appears as advocate for employers in defending and resolving employee claims, including unfair dismissal, general protections, discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying and underpayment claims. He specialises in resolving high-stakes, complex or sensitive dismissal claims and has particular experience in the hospitality, aged care, childcare, healthcare and transport industries.

Owner Drivers and Transport

Julian has particular expertise in the regulation of owner-drivers (contracts of carriage) in the NSW and Victorian systems. He provides advice on cartage agreements, TWU and Wage Inspectorate engagement, contract determinations and agreements, goodwill claims and statutory regulation.

In 2023, with his colleagues Nigel and Luis, Julian co-authored the leading textbook on the area, Owner-Driver Law in Australia, published by Thomson Reuters. In 2025, he was a member of the subcommittee of the Fair Work Commission’s Road Transport Advisory Group.

Bargaining and Enterprise Agreements

Julian has a particular interest in enterprise bargaining and providing strategic advice about bargaining approach and planning, negotiation, managing industrial action and securing agreement approval. He has also spent time embedded in large organisations directly assisting to ‘win the vote’.

Investigations, Training and Speaking

In addition to advisory and advocacy work, Julian regularly undertakes confidential workplace investigations into workplace misconduct or whistleblower complaints.

A sought-after speaker, Julian regularly appears at national HR and industrial relations conferences. He regularly visits client workplaces to provide training to managers, employees and boards, particularly in relation to sexual harassment. 

Before commencing practice as a solicitor, Julian was an Associate to a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia who sat on the Court’s industrial law panel.