The Mining and Energy Union has a proud 150-year history of representing workers in the mining and energy industries with over 27,000 members working across Australia. The MEU’s Litigation Department provides an in-house legal service to the Union and manages a busy caseload of matters before federal and state courts and tribunals.
Our scope of practice includes day-to-day employment law matters such as unfair dismissal claims, enterprise agreement disputes and wage claims. It also extends to other areas of legal practice and the broader work of the Union, including class action proceedings, human rights and discrimination claims, work health and safety disputes, corporate insolvency matters, appeals and judicial review proceeding, not-for-profit governance and compliance, and legal policy development.
The Union has an active appellate and strategic litigation practice, including before the High Court. Recent finalised matters include:
- obtaining leave to intervene in an appeal before the High Court concerning the operation of the coal industry portable long service leave scheme.
- successfully defending an appeal to the High Court which clarified the scope of the genuine redundancy exception in unfair dismissal law.
- successfully opposing a grant of special leave to appeal to the High Court seeking to challenge the orders issued in the first major test-case of the new regulated labour hire arrangement order scheme, after conducting the trial and Federal Court proceedings below.
The Union is presently litigating test-case matters before the industrial commission, including the first two contested worker community of interest applications under the Net Zero Economy Authority Act to ensure meaningful transition supports are provided to displaced workers, their families and their communities. We are also actively reviewing the impact of digital work systems, including artificial intelligence and automation processes, on workers and the workplace relations framework.
The role
We are looking to employ an experienced practitioner to work as a National Legal Officer in our National Office in Sydney to conduct litigation and contribute to the broader work of the organisation.
The position is a 12 to 18-month contract (parental leave), with the specific duration to be agreed, and offered on a full-time basis, although consideration will be given to part-time appointments at or above 0.8 FTE. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced lawyer to build their expertise in high-profile, complex litigation and policy development which directly connects to the livelihoods and working conditions of thousands of workers across Australia. The successful applicant will work as part of a high-quality and supportive in-house litigation team under the day-to-day supervision of the National Legal Director.
Duties will include:
- general carriage of court and tribunal litigation, including appearances
- instructing counsel in complex cases and appeals
- advising Union officers on legal issues, on an urgent basis where required
- conducting compliance reviews of industrial documents as required
- preparing policy submissions on behalf of the Union
Essential requirements:
To be the successful applicant you must have the following attributes:
- Australian lawyer with an unrestricted practising certificate recognised in NSW
- Seven or more years of post-qualification experience (PQE)
- Extensive industrial law experience and substantial experience in two or more of the following fields:
- work health and safety
- workers compensation
- legal policy
- civil / commercial litigation
- public law
- human rights and discrimination law
- corporate and not-for-profit governance / regulatory compliance
- High-quality legal drafting and research skills
- Commitment to trade union values and motivation to build a career as an advocate for working people
- Ability to work cooperatively and efficiently in a team environment
- Capacity to exercise good judgement and convey legal advice in plain English
- Willingness to travel interstate and Regional New South Wales as required
Terms and conditions of employment:
This role is subject to the MEU’s collective staff agreement that provides amongst the best salary and conditions of employment of any equivalent position within the trade union movement. Full details of proposed salary and entitlements will be provided to short listed applicants.
Wherever practical, we attempt to provide flexible work arrangements to enable employees to meet their family and community responsibilities.
The position is to commence as soon as practicable, subject to the availability of the successful applicant.
Please note that regular travel may be required.
How to apply:
Applications consisting of:
- cover letter of no more than one page
- curriculum vitae of no more than three pages
- copy of academic transcript
Should be sent by email to [email protected] and addressed to:
Mr Alistair Sage
National Legal Director
Mining and Energy Union
215-217 Clarence Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Applications close on Friday 24 September 2026.
All applications will be treated confidentially.