| Date | 8 September 2026 |
| Time | 12.00pm-3.35pm AEST (Syd/Melb/Bris time) |
| Venue | Live Online with recording (recording access expires 8 October 2026) |
| Pricing | $440 Price includes gst. |
| Sector | Non-State Schools |
| CPD | Addresses 7.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers |
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Program
12.00 LawSense Welcome
12.05 Chairperson’s Remarks
Alison Binet, Deputy Head People & Culture, Barker College
12.10 Underpayments and Potential Wage Theft: Navigating Current Obligations, Risk Areas for Schools, Responding to Underpayments and Implementing Best Practice
Outlining Obligations, Legislative and Enforcement Landscape
- Examining the source of obligations – awards, enterprise agreements, contracts, legislation
- Outlining criminalisation under the Fair Work Act 2009
- Understanding the role of the Fair Work Ombudsman
- Examining potential consequences of underpayment and the approach of regulators
Understanding “Wage Theft” in the School Context
- Understanding when underpayment becomes criminal conduct
- Examining who is exposed (entity, school leadership, boards)
Managing High-Risk Areas in Schools
- Examining key areas of risk in schools:
- co-curricular work
- camps
- boarding
- term-time structures
- Managing classification and engagement risks
- Annualised salaries and common payroll pitfalls
Learnings from Cases and Enforcement
- Examining lessons from enforcement and case studies
Implementing an Effective Compliance Framework
- Examining best practice frameworks to manage compliance, including audits, governance, record-keeping, system controls
Responding to Underpayments
- Examining key steps to take when underpayment is discovered
- Dealing with the regulator
- Managing underpayment issues to mitigate legal consequences
Jennifer Patterson, Partner, MinterEllison
1.10 Break
1.20 Return-to-Work: Navigating Your Obligations, Assessments, Plans and Managing Performance Issues and Redundancy
Outlining the Return-to-Work Legal Frameworks
- Examining key obligations under workers compensation and employment law
- Understanding the interaction between workers compensation, WHS and employment law duties
- Examining legal obligations when a worker is injured:
- employer obligations to provide suitable duties
- timeframes and procedural requirements
- understanding and managing areas where disputes arise in schools
Return to Work Assessments
- Navigating medical assessments in return-to-work matters, including:
- school involvement in medical assessments and certificates of capacity
- understanding when and how you should use independent medical examinations
- capacity determinations versus the real demands of the role
Developing Effective and Compliant Return-to-33wWork Plans
- Examining what should be included in a compliant plan
- Tailoring duties to the school workplace
- Monitoring, reviewing and adjusting plans over time
Managing Psychological Injuries and Psychosocial Risks
- Examining obligations in managing psychological injury and psychosocial hazards with staff returning to work, including the interaction with bullying, stress and performance concerns
- Understanding how psychological injuries and psychosocial hazards should be approached and managed to ensure legal compliance
- Managing prolonged absences and complex cases
Performance Management and Return to Work
- Understanding when you can legally performance manage staff returning to work from injury
- Separating injury-related incapacity from performance issues
- Ensuring procedural fairness and avoiding claims
- Understanding when you can terminate the employment
Handling Challenging Scenarios
- Effectively managing circumstances where:
- the employee refuses suitable duties
- there is conflicting medical evidence
- it appears there is long-term or permanent incapacity
Redundancy
- Understanding and managing redundancy options where an employee is on workers compensation
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy; Legal Counsel, Association of Heads of Independent Schools Australia
2.20 Break
2.30 Determining and Documenting Inherent Job Requirements, Including Psychosocial Expectations
Legal Framework and Implications Regarding “Inherent Requirements”
- Examining legal definitions of inherent requirements and why they matter in law
- Distinguishing essential duties from non-essential tasks
- Understanding how optimising and recording inherent requirements supports your legal position and defence, including:
- supporting obligations and defending claims regarding psychosocial hazards
- defending discrimination, unfair dismissal and general protections claims
- managing return to work and fitness for duty
- supporting lawful performance management and termination decisions
Identifying Inherent Requirements in Practice
- Identifying core elements of a role:
- physical requirements
- cognitive requirements, including decision-making, attention, judgment
- behavioural requirements, including professional conduct and communication
- Understanding the potential legal implications of overstatement or artificially inflating role requirements
- Identifying and applying requirements across similar roles
Psychosocial Requirements
- Understanding the extent to which you can include psychosocial requirements in the inherent job requirements of a role – what can you cover?
Documenting Inherent Requirements Effectively, Including Psychosocial Requirements
- Drafting optimum position descriptions, including:
- considerations regarding form and structure
- aligning duties with actual day-to-day work
- exploring particular considerations in drafting psychosocial requirements, including best practice examples
- Reviewing and updating of role requirements
- Learning from example position descriptions in key school roles
David Scanlan, Employment Law Lead – WA, Mapien Law; Former, Director of People and Culture, St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls
3.30 Chairperson’s Remarks
3.35 Event Close
Presenters / panelists include:
Alison Binet is the Deputy Head People & Culture at Barker College, an Anglican Independent School in Sydney. Barker College’s main campus is in Hornsby, with three indigenous campuses in NSW and NT. Alison has a strong background in the Education Sector, having been with Barker College since 2018 and previously with Catholic Schools, Diocese of Broken Bay for 14 years.
Jen Patterson has extensive experience as an industrial relations, employment and WHS law advisor. Jen has particular expertise advising schools. She has acted for the Association of Independent Schools in NSW for more than 20 years and sits on their Employee Relations Committee. Jen was the lead adviser to the AISNSW on industrial strategy for its member schools following the two most recent legislative reforms.
Ben Tallboys provides sector-specific, practical legal solutions to schools across Australia. Ben is a passionate and effective advocate for principals dealing with complex matters relating to parents, staff and students, as well as their own employment.
David Scanlan is a Senior Employment Lawyer at Mapien Law heading up their WA office, having commenced in September 2025. Prior, David was the Director of People & Culture at St Hilda’s from 2020. In this role he drove the people development, cultural development, talent acquisition and compliance functions of the School. Prior to joining St Hilda’s, David worked in private practice as lawyer. He spent much of his career at international law firm Ashurst in their Perth Employment and Industrial Relations team, starting there as a graduate and leaving as a Senior Associate.