Workplace risk rises on Queensland’s business agenda
Queensland employers face growing workplace complexity as Piper Alderman expands Brisbane employment team.
Queensland employers are navigating one of the most active periods of workplace change in recent years, with evolving employment laws, heightened safety obligations and increasing regulatory scrutiny placing new pressure on boards, executives, HR teams and in-house counsel.
Against that backdrop, national law firm Piper Alderman has strengthened its Brisbane office with the appointment of employment, workplace health and safety and industrial relations lawyer Mason Fettell as a partner, together with his team.
The move adds further depth to the firm’s Queensland capability at a time when local businesses are facing significant challenges navigating compliance with their employment and WHS obligations
Highlighting the increased strain on Queensland employers:
- From July 1 to December 31 2025, total lodgements in the Fair Work Commission were up 40 per cent compared to the three-year average from 2022-23 to 2024-25, with total lodgements in 2025-26 projected to tip 50,000-55,000.
- In March 2026, the Queensland government announced that the number of primary psychological claims increased by almost 97.4 per cent in the last five years, from 1950 in 2020-21 to 3849 in 2024-25.
Recent and upcoming changes affecting employers include payroll and superannuation reforms, expanded expectations around psychosocial risk management, closer scrutiny of workplace conduct, and ongoing attention on compliance with workers’ compensation obligations.
For Queensland readers, the appointment is significant because it reflects the growing demand for local access to specialist workplace advice backed by national capability. Many Queensland-based employers operate across borders, while national organisations with operations in Queensland must manage both federal employment obligations and state-specific safety, workers’ compensation and regulatory requirements.
Mason is joined in Brisbane by senior associates Kelvin Lee and Ashleigh O’Connor, associate Sarah Kneipp and paralegal Angelique Seinin. The team advises on employment and industrial relations disputes, workplace investigations, WHS incident response and prosecutions, regulatory compliance, enterprise bargaining, workforce strategy, organisational change, terminations and the management of ill and injured workers.
Fettell said Piper Alderman’s national platform and investment in its employment relations practice were key factors in his decision to join the firm.
“Queensland employers are dealing with increasingly complex employment, safety and regulatory challenges,” he said. “I look forward to working with colleagues across the country to support clients with practical, commercially aligned advice that helps them manage risk and respond effectively when workplace issues arise.”
Piper Alderman managing partner James Macdonald said the appointment was an important step in the expansion of the firm’s national employment relations practice.
“The addition of Mason and his team strengthens our ability to support clients through complex workforce and regulatory challenges in Queensland and across multiple jurisdictions,” he said.
Piper Alderman’s employment relations practice now has a presence across Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, giving Queensland clients access to local support and national coverage at a time when workplace regulation is becoming more complex and more closely watched.
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