Rankin Ellison Lawyers, established across Sydney and Newcastle for over 100 years, is building an employment law practice and looking for a motivated Associate to join us at a genuinely interesting moment.
The NSW workers compensation reforms, effective July 2026, are reshaping the legal landscape for employers across the state. Disputed psychological injury claims will increasingly route through the Industrial Relations Commission, a jurisdiction that sits squarely in the domain of employment law. At the same time, the codification of reasonable management action under the reformed s.11A, the expanded SafeWork inspection remit for psychosocial hazards, and the growing incidence of concurrent Fair Work applications mean that employer clients can no longer be served by workers compensation lawyers alone.
We have spent a century building relationships with those employer clients. We are now building the capability to expand our services.
About the role
This is not a conventional lateral move. You will join a firm with deep, decades-long employer relationships and work at the intersection of employment law and the reformed psychological injury pathway, an area that is genuinely new, genuinely complex, and consequential for the employers we represent.
The immediate work will include IRC preparation and appearances, employer HR documentation, and psychosocial safety audits, concurrent FWC and adverse action matter management, and integrated advice across the workers compensation and employment law interface. As the practice develops, there is a clear pathway to your future.
You will be supported from day one by a structured training program delivered by a retained senior employment barrister, with ongoing file oversight, mentoring, and access to counsel on complex matters. Our existing workers compensation practitioners will orient you to the scheme. You will orient them to employment law. This is a knowledge exchange, not a one-way dependency.
You will not be thrown in without a net.
What we are looking for
* 3 to 5 years of employment law experience, with genuine exposure to employer-side matters
* Experience appearing in or before the Fair Work Commission, IRC, or equivalent tribunal
* Demonstrated written advocacy and the ability to advise clients clearly under pressure
* Genuine intellectual interest in the intersection of employment law and workers compensation
* Admitted to practise in NSW, or eligible for admission
What we offer
* A defined practice development role with a clear trajectory
* Access to an established employer client base built over a century. It does not need to be built from scratch
* Structured mentoring by a retained senior barrister from your first day
* A collegial, collaborative culture in a firm that has operated through every shift in the legal market for over 100 years
* Competitive remuneration commensurate with experience
This role suits an employment lawyer who wants to do more than process volume work, and who sees the July 2026 reforms as an opportunity.
If that sounds like you, we would like to hear from you.
To apply, please send your CV and a brief covering note to careers@rankinellison.com.au
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