Underpayments, psychosocial hazards, AI litigation and more – experts share what HR teams need to act on now
The Employment Law Masterclass 2026 has come and gone, bringing together some of Australia's leading employment, safety and industrial relations lawyers for a day-long deep dive into the issues shaping HR practice.
Chaired by Katie Kossian, special counsel for employment, safety and people at Maddocks, the program moved from wage compliance and flexible work through to artificial intelligence's growing footprint in tribunal litigation, offering practical, case-based guidance for HR directors, CHROs and in-house counsel navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Here is a breakdown of what was covered, session by session.
Kate Pennicott, a partner at MinterEllison, opened the technical program with a session on wage compliance, unpacking how organisations should approach a payroll "health check" and what a defensible remediation program looks like. Pennicott said the general rule of thumb for a remediation period is six years, matching the maximum period an employee could bring a wages claim, though the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will sometimes expect employers to look back further if records allow it.
She said the FWO's guidance sets clear expectations around self-reporting, noting the regulator prefers to hear about issues directly from employers rather than through individual...
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