About Us
Our 3 Partners share a true passion for employment and industrial law, having chosen, early in their careers, to specialise in this area.
Each has taken a slightly different path, which creates a depth of experience and knowledge across the practice.
Kat, Suzy and Matthew spent many years working together in private practice.
Matthew has worked for many years as a Partner in specialist workplace relations firms, as an accredited specialist in this area. He is known as a fierce advocate for his clients, successfully managing litigation for his clients in State and Federal Courts and Tribunals.
Kat left private practice to work in senior in-house industrial relations leadership in the infrastructure sector and executive-level roles involving workplace policy and regulatory reform, before returning to share this experience with clients.
Suzy has experience in both senior in-house legal and HR roles (as Legal Counsel (workplace relations and employment law) and strategic and operational HR roles), before returning to private practice again. Suzy is an expert in partnering with businesses to translate complex legal concepts into clear advice and strategies for her clients.
What has brought them back together is their shared passion for this area of law, as well as an interest in providing commercial and practical solutions to clients.
Our Story
Our values
We are driven to provide excellence, partnership and workability to our clients. We build strong relationships with clients by providing commercial and legally sound advice, adopting a risk management approach.
Everything we do at Workable Law & IR is guided by three core values:
Excellence.
We hold ourselves to the highest standard in everything we do - from the quality of our legal advice to the way we engage with our clients.
Partnership.
We work alongside our clients, not just for them. We take the time to understand your business, your industry and your goals so that the advice we provide is genuinely useful, not just legally correct.
Workable.
Good advice is only valuable if it can be put into practice. We cut through complexity to deliver solutions that are commercially sound, legally robust and, above all, workable for your business.
People
Kat Eather
Partner
Kat is the founder of Workable Law & IR and a Partner of the firm. She has more than 18 years’ experience practising in employment law and industrial relations, gained in specialist and top-tier law firms and in senior in-house roles with major Australian organisations.
Kat is an industrial relations specialist with deep experience at the bargaining table, in complex workplace disputes and in strategic workforce reform. She has partnered with organisations to lead enterprise bargaining negotiations across large, unionised and multi-site workforces, advised on industrial strategy for major infrastructure and resources projects, and represented employers in high-stakes disputes before the Fair Work Commission and superior courts.
Her experience spans senior in-house industrial relations leadership in the infrastructure sector, private practice in leading employment law firms, and executive-level roles involving workplace policy and regulatory reform. She understands both the legal framework and the commercial realities facing Australian employers.
Kat regularly advises on:
Enterprise bargaining and industrial strategy
Industrial disputes, protected industrial action and right of entry matters
Complex restructures, redundancies and workforce change program
Executive employment
Workplace investigations and regulatory matters
General protections, unfair dismissal, post-employment restraints and employment litigation
Development of compliant and practical workplace governance frameworks, including enterprise agreements, awards compliance, contracts and policies
Submissions, evidence and advocacy to Government inquiries, statutory reviews and other industry consultations.
She has acted for Australian and multi-national businesses, large and small, across industries including construction, contracting, infrastructure, retail, professional services, technology, aged care and health services, education, financial services and manufacturing. She has held statutory appointments to tripartite government consultation and advisory bodies.
Kat is known for her clear, pragmatic advice and her ability to resolve complex workforce issues in a legally sound, commercially workable way.
Qualifications
Kat is admitted to practice in New South Wales and holds a Master of Labour Law and Relations from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Media from Macquarie University
Suzy Cusack
Partner
Suzy is a Partner of the firm. She is an accomplished lawyer with over 20 years’ experience practicing in employment law and employee relations (ER). She has worked in both private practice and in-house in specialist employment law roles. Suzy has also worked in senior HR roles, where she gained firsthand insight into how legal expertise can support strategic business goals and deliver strong commercial outcomes.
Suzy regularly advises on:
complex employee relations issues
Executive employment disputes and issues
Complex restructures, redundancies, workforce change programs and transfer of business
Workplace investigations and regulatory matters
General protections, unfair dismissal, post-employment restraints, discrimination and employment litigation
Workplace compliance audits and recommendations on workplace governance frameworks, including awards compliance, contracts, policies and processes
Suzy provides both commercial and practical advice for clients, with an approachable manner and the ability to communicate well with all levels of the business. She has a deep understanding of the pressures and opportunities facing HR and in house legal teams, and partners with clients to develop workable solutions for their businesses.
Suzy has worked across many industries (including healthcare, pharmaceutical, life sciences, transport and logistics, professional services and technology), advising large and small employers. She regularly advises large corporate clients (Australian and multinational), SMEs and government clients.
Qualifications
Suzy is admitted to practice in New South Wales and holds a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Macquarie University.
Matthew Robinson
Partner
Matthew has over 25 years’ experience advising employers on employment law and workplace relations. He is an Accredited Specialist in Employment and Industrial Law and is widely known as a fierce and effective litigator, having run cases in the High Court, Full Court, Federal Court of Australia, Supreme Courts of almost every State and Territory, the Fair Work Commission Full Bench, and tribunals across the country.
Matthew’s litigation practice includes extensive experience in interlocutory proceedings such as restraint enforcement, Anton Piller orders, Mareva injunctions and preliminary discovery, which are a recurring feature of employment and confidentiality disputes.
Beyond the courtroom, Matthew brings deep strategic expertise across the full range of workplace relations matters. He has acted for publicly listed companies, multinationals, industrial associations, and businesses of all sizes across industries including professional services, pharmaceuticals and health, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, construction, and transport and logistics.
Matthew is known for his critical thinking, pragmatic advice, and determination to achieve results for his clients.
Matthew regularly advises on:
Enterprise bargaining and industrial strategy
Industrial disputes, protected industrial action and interlocutory proceedings
Unfair dismissal, general protections, discrimination and employment litigation
Post-employment restraints and confidential information disputes
Executive employment and incentive arrangements
Workforce change, restructures and redundancies
Wage and entitlement compliance, including remediation strategy
Work health and safety compliance and incident response
Development of compliant workplace governance frameworks, including enterprise agreements, contracts and policies
Qualifications
Matthew is an Accredited Specialist (Employment & Industrial Law) and has a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University.