Ashurst

Ashurst, now part of Ashurst Perkins Coie, provides employment and workplace legal advisory across Australia from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with roots dating to 1822.

• The employment group advises on industrial relations and collective bargaining, enterprise agreement negotiation and union disputes, and states it has advised on labour relations strategy for more than 100 years.
• Handles employment litigation in courts and tribunals, including unfair dismissal, adverse action, breach of contract and bullying and harassment claims, alongside workplace investigations.
• Advises on work health and safety incident management, compliance audits, defence of safety prosecutions and board liability, plus executive remuneration, senior recruitment and departures.
• Following the finalised combination with Perkins Coie in 2026, the firm operates 52 offices across 20 countries with more than 3,500 practitioners; Sydney, where its office dates from 1881, is a flagship hub.

Best for: large employers and government bodies facing high risk workplace matters, from enterprise bargaining through to safety prosecutions.

Ashurst advises employers on enterprise bargaining and enterprise agreement negotiations across Australia, drawing on an industrial relations practice that has advised on labour relations strategy for more than 100 years.

• Develops bargaining strategy, negotiates collective agreements and manages disputes involving unions and industrial action.
• Supports agreement making from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, with litigation support where disputes reach courts or tribunals.
• Acts for employers across banking, mining, energy, government, defence and infrastructure sectors.

Best for: employers with unionised workforces preparing for enterprise agreement negotiations or managing industrial action.