Alana Rafter
Senior Associate
EXPERIENCE
Alana is an employment and industrial relations lawyer based in Sydney. She specialises in helping employers and businesses navigate compliance with the
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and work health and safety legislation.
Alana’s employment and industrial law expertise includes:
- advising on employment and workplace matters;
- advising on compliance with work health and safety duties;
- responding to unfair dismissal, general protections and discrimination claims;
- preparing and reviewing contracts and policies;
- workplace investigations;
- assisting employers to navigate workers compensation law; and
- modern award interpretation and compliance.
She is an experienced advocate and regularly appears in industrial tribunals and courts around Australia. Currently, she continues to appear on behalf of the employer interests in the
Work Value – Aged Care Industry Case before the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission.
Her recent advocacy and policy work also includes:
- participating in the employer stakeholder roundtable discussions as part of the Productivity Commission’s study into “indirect employment” in the aged care sector; and
- assisting both national employer and industry bodies prepare submissions to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations that address the proposals for national labour hire regulation, “same job, same pay” provisions, recognition of “employee-like” forms of work and amendments the general protections regime.
Immediately prior to joining ABLA, Alana held the role of Associate to the Hon Justice Michael Walton of the Supreme Court of NSW for five years. There she had broad exposure to matters within the Common Law Division and Court of Criminal Appeal. She has extensive experience undertaking legal research and complex drafting across numerous areas of civil and criminal law. This unique experience has very much shaped her approach to practise. She brings a strong appreciation for the approach taken by the courts when preparing advice.
Her experience includes the following appointments: Secretary of the NSW Young Lawyers (2022), Chair of the NSW Young Lawyers Public Law & Government Committee (2021), and committee member on the Law Society of NSW Public Law Committee (2020-2021).
Alana graduated from the University of Notre Dame Australia with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours). She is currently completing a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney with a focus upon employment and industrial law.