What a year! As this is my last message for 2022, it seems only fitting to end the year on a positive note, with news that office occupancy in Melbourne’s CBD is climbing as Victoria continues its recovery.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has held that a Sydney Trains employee is to be reinstated after he was initially accused of assaulting a 14-year-old female student on a train platform.

Well, we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted for business with Federal Parliament passing the Industrial Relations Reforms Bill last week. So, we will now be ensuring we support you and your business to understand the impact of the changes and how you can navigate them.

The Victorian Chamber will partner with Jobs Victoria and Youth Activating Youth (YAY) to improve pathways for multicultural youth facing barriers to employment.

The Federal Court of Australia has held that a resources company should have paid untaken personal leave to 20 employees whose jobs were made redundant in 2020.

One of the great things about Australia is that we live in a democracy. We all had the chance to vote on the weekend and we congratulate Premier Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party on what was a decisive win in the Victorian Election.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has upheld the dismissal of a FIFO mine worker who was terminated after he abandoned his employment to return home without notifying the company.

Not every business has the in-house expertise to manage certain HR issues as they arise. It’s now easier to access HR support from experts as you need, when you need.

This Saturday Victorians will go to the polls in what is shaping as a critical election for our business community after the many challenges of the past three years.

Differences of opinion and disagreement occur in almost any work environment or context.

I am delighted that the Victorian Chamber Board endorsed Adrian Kloeden as President and Jeremy Blackshaw as Deputy President at Tuesday’s Victorian Chamber AGM. Congratulations to Adrian and Jeremy and thank you to Karyn Sobels for her successful tenure as President.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has found that the dismissal of a Victoria Police forensic officer for contacting her husband’s ex-partner during work hours was disproportionate and harsh.

I’m excited to be Acting Chief Executive of the Victorian Chamber this week while Paul Guerra is in Paris bidding on behalf of Melbourne to secure the 14th World Chambers Congress here in 2025.

The end of the year is a time to relax, unwind and (hopefully) reflect on a year of achievement and come back ready to go in the new year.

With the Melbourne Cup run and won, the focus now turns to another race - the Victorian Election on November 26. The official campaign began yesterday and the Victorian Chamber released the first of a series of advocacy videos to promote our State Election Platform, Powering Victoria’s Future.

As employers, we’re all in this together. Navigating new ways of working as we attempt to implement some structure and normalcy while learning to live with COVID-19.