People

Victoria Athanasiou

Senior Associate

Victoria is a lawyer in Lander & Rogers' Workplace Relations & Safety team. She has a broad range of experience in employment, industrial relations and safety matters in the public and private sectors. Victoria represents employers in a wide range of employment-related disputes, including adverse action and discrimination claims, underpayment disputes, workplace investigations, and matters involving award or enterprise agreement interpretation and compliance.

Experience

Victoria's areas of expertise include:

  • conducting workplace investigations
  • advising on disciplinary processes and termination of employment
  • managing sexual harassment and discrimination claims
  • interpreting enterprise agreements and modern awards
  • assisting in court and tribunal proceedings, including general protections claims, unfair dismissal matters, and industrial disputes
  • advising on employee entitlements and compliance with employment obligations.

Victoria is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria and serves as a Committee Member of its Workplace Relations Committee.

She was also named a finalist in the Rising Star of the Year category at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards 2024.

Career highlights

Victoria’s career highlights include:

  • acting for a major hospital and successfully obtaining an order from the Fair Work Commission to suspend industrial action
  • assisting a large employer with a voluntary underpayment disclosure and subsequent inquiries by the Fair Work Ombudsman
  • acting for a medical indemnity insurer in a VCAT discrimination proceeding, which was successfully struck out
  • representing an insurer in County Court litigation relating to a major factory fire in Melbourne in 2019
  • defending multiple sexual harassment claims on behalf of medical practices and negotiating favourable outcomes
  • acting for a senior executive in Federal Court general protections proceedings and achieving a favourable settlement
  • instructing at a penalty hearing in the Federal Court of Australia and assisting counsel with drafting evidence and submissions.