Magda Marciniak

Partner

Magda’s professional passion is a tricky legal question about a contract, award or enterprise agreement. From Magda’s perspective, the trickier the question is, the more interesting the work will be. Consequently, she has a large following of loyal clients who she advises on a wide range of employment law, discrimination and IR issues. Magda is regularly asked to present on complex legal topics and concepts which she is able to convey with great clarity.

Areas of Practice

Magda assists her clients with a wide range of equal opportunity and employment law matters, including discrimination and sexual harassment complaints, enterprise agreements, modern award obligations and transfer of business. She has a particular interest in advising clients about compliance issues and interpreting industrial instruments.

Magda works with private, public and community sector clients across a range of industries, in particular local government, public entities, professional services, social and community services and information technology.

Magda regularly represents clients defending claims in the Fair Work Commission, VCAT and the Federal Court and assists her clients in their dealings with the Fair Work Ombudsman. She is also an experienced workplace investigator and is consistently rated highly for her training.

Experience and expertise

Recent examples of work undertaken by Magda include:

  • Assisting a Council with its enterprise agreement.
  • Advising a statutory authority with respect to injured employees.
  • Conducting conflict of interest training for Council employees.
  • Defending a client in the Fair Work Commission in an application for orders to stop bullying.
  • Advising a professional services firm on the employment-related aspects of a sale of business.
  • Presenting equal opportunity training to law firm employees.
  • Advising a community services sector client about its employee health records obligations.
  • Conducting a complex investigation for a higher education industry client.

Professional and community engagement

Magda was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 15th Edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia (2022) for her work in Employee Benefits Law.

Magda is often invited to present papers on employment law topics for human resources and other industry professional conferences. She has also published numerous articles and blogs. Magda is the Pro Bono Coordinator at Justitia and mentors law students through the Victorian Women Lawyers mentoring program. Magda is also a Forum Expert with the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, Monash University, 2002
  • Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Monash University, 2002

Affiliations

  • Australian Labour Law Association
  • Law Institute of Victoria
  • Victorian Women Lawyers
quote rounded
Magda has the ability to come up with solutions to the most challenging legal problem. She is able to clarify complicated, technical issues by giving advice in clear and plain language. Magda brings a measured and well considered response to all queries, offering workable solutions for difficult scenarios.