Deacons Australia has recruited Freehills partner Barry Sherriff to join its national occupational health and safety practice in its Melbourne office. The appointment signals Deacons’ intent to continue to build a significant presence in this space.
Sherriff was one of three experts appointed by the federal government and tasked with developing a model for harmonised national workplace safety laws. Legal differences between Australia’s nine OH&S jurisdictions have been cited as a key pain point for businesses, and harmonisation was a key election commitment by the Rudd Government.
Chief executive partner of Deacons, Don Boyd, said the firm also plans to use its upcoming merger with Norton Rose to build up its OH&S practice. “The timing is not co-incidental,” he said. “The merger offers a fantastic opportunity to grow our OH&S practice, particularly in Asia.”
According to Michael Tooma, leader of Deacons’ OH&S practice, the practice area is coming into focus domestically as well. “The model laws currently being debated represent the most significant change to OH&S laws in this country for more than 30 years – they’ve been more than five years coming and are being closely followed by businesses,” he said.
Sherriff started in his new position last week and joins Deacons partner Mike Hammond, who has been practicing in the area for more than 12 years. Hammond advised on one of the most high-profile workplace accidents in Australian history, the 2006 ANZAC Day rock fall at Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania.
