Australian Labour Law Association
The Australian Labour Law Association (ALLA) was incorporated in Victoria on 27 February 2001 and now has active State Chapters in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania. ALLA's main objectives are to promote the study of labour law and social security both in Australia and internationally, and to provide a forum for discussion and debate for lawyers and others working in these fields.
- Membership
Membership of ALLA is open to all who are interested in the aims of the Association, either professionally or because of scholarly activities.
View - National Committee
The affairs of the Association are managed by the National Committee of Management.
View - Annual General Meetings
Read ALLA's past Annual General Meeting minutes.
View - History
View information on the founding members and the launch of ALLA.
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Upcoming and Recent Events
Friday 13 November 2020 - #ALLAECRSeminarSeries
ECR Coordinator Dr Gabrielle Golding hosted Emerita Professor Rosemary Owens AO presenting the seminar 'Developing a Career as a Labour Law Researcher' for our ECR Network.
Friday 25 September 2020 - #ALLAECRSeminarSeries
ECR Coordinator Dr Gabrielle Golding hosted Associate Professor Dominique Allen presenting the seminar 'Effective Writing Strategies' for our ECR Network.
COVID-19 and the Regulation of Work - 16 September 2020
The Australian Labour Law Association was pleased to present ‘COVID-19 and the Regulation of Work: Fast-tracking the Project of IR Reform?’ on 16 September 2020. The seminar presented by Professor Anthony Forsyth and chaired by Renee Burns considered COVID driven changes to awards and the Fair Work Act and asked what will be the longer-term impact of all these changes? Has the pandemic simply done the Coalition and business lobby’s work for them, instigating reductions in employment conditions, job security and work rights that would not otherwise have been attainable in Australia?
This video is available to ALLA members - contact law-alla@unimelb.edu.au for access.
Victorian Chapter Seminar - Thursday 20 August 2020
ALLA hosted Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton in discussion with Dr Laura Hilly from the Victorian Bar and ALLA Secretary, Associate Professor Dominique Allen to celebrate the 30th birthday of Professor Thornton's classic text on anti-discrimination law 'The Liberal Promise'.
This video is available to ALLA members - contact law-alla@unimelb.edu.au for access.
Panel Discussion - 04 June 2020
ALLA was proud to host ALLA Vice President, Professor Anthony Forsyth exploring Union responses to COVID-19 in discussion with Tim Kennedy, National Secretary, United Workers Union; Sarah Roberts, Assistant Secretary, National Tertiary Education Union (Victorian Division); and Denis Matson, Senior Industrial Officer, Independent Education Union Victoria Tasmania.
Sarah and Denis have generously taken the time to respond to those audience questions not asked on the night, read their responses here.
This video is available to ALLA members - contact law-alla@unimelb.edu.au for access.
Victorian Chapter Seminar - Tuesday 16 June 2020
The Victorian Chapter of the Australian Labour Law Association was proud to partner with Monash Centre for Commercial Law in presenting ‘Workplace Law Highlights’ which examined the new Industrial Manslaughter laws and latest development in general protections under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) presented by Dr Eric Windholz, Senior Lecturer, Monash University; Ms Emma Goodwin, ALLA Treasurer and Senior Associate, MinterEllison; and Tim Donaghey, Barrister, New South Wales and Victorian Bars. This seminar was chaired by Professor Marilyn Pittard.
State Chapter Seminar - Thursday 7 May 2020
The QLD Chapter of the Australian Labour Law Association was proud to host: ‘The Fair Work Commission's response to the COVID-19 pandemic’ presented by Fair Work Commission President, Justice Iain Ross AO.
NSW State Chapter Event - Monday 20 April 2020
The ALLA NSW Chapter was proud to host the first ALLA National Webinar 'Guide to the JobKeeper Scheme - Employment in the time of COVID-19' presented by Ian Neil SC, David Chin SC and Christopher Parkin.
This webinar provided an overview of the main features of the statutory scheme, and explored the practical effect of these changes. The webinar was based on a guide published by the speakers and available here.

ALLA National Conference 2021
Crowne Plaza, Sydney Coogee Beach 12-13 November
To find out more about your State or Territory Chapter click on the links below.
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State & Territory Chapters
State and Territory Chapters of ALLA have been formed around Australia.
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National Conference
ALLA's National Conference is held every two years, gathering academics and practitioners from around Australia.
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External Events
Information on Labour Law events external to ALLA.
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Continuing Professional Development
ALLA Conference Prizes
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Phillipa Weeks Prize
The Phillipa Weeks Prize recognises the contribution of Professor Phillipa Weeks to Australian labour law scholarship and her unwavering support of young and upcoming scholars.
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Dominica Whelan Prize
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The Dominica Whelan Prize is named in honour of the late Dominica Whelan, who served for many years as a member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, Fair Work Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. -
ALLA Research Degree Scholarship
The ALLA Research Degree Scholarship is awarded to provide financial assistance for reseach degree students to take part in and present a paper at the ALLA biennial national conference.
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Read ALLA's annual newletter and access online version of the Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal.
Please direct general enquiries to the ALLA Administrator.
ALLA Administrator:
Renee Burns
Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law
Melbourne Law School
University of Melbourne
Vic 3010
Phone: +61 418 844 704
Email: law-alla@unimelb.edu.au
ALLA Secretary:
Associate Professor Dominique Allen
Department of Business Law and Taxation
Monash University
Vic 3145
Phone: +61 3 9903 2385
Email: dominique.allen@monash.edu
ALLA aims to provide an ongoing forum for debates, seminars and discussion groups, to enable the exchange of ideas about labour law arising both within Australia and internationally.
Membership of ALLA is open to all who are interested in the aims of the Association, either professionally or because of scholarly activities.
Membership Fees 2020
ALLA offers Professional, Student and Retired membership, and a reduced rate for 24 month memberships.
Our membership periods align with the financial quarters, you can join ALLA at any time of the year by completing the online form. Payment should be completed at the time of application.
Professional Member
- $70 - 12 month membership
- $130 - 24 month membership
Student Member
- $35 - 12 month membership
- $65 - 24 month membership
Retired Member
- $50 - 12 month membership
- $90 - 24 month membership
Join now
Early Career Research Network
The ALLA early career network, coordinated by Dr Gabrielle Golding was established to foster the research, teaching, engagement and career development of junior labour law scholars. If you are a current Masters or doctoral student, a research fellow or post-doctoral fellow, or an academic who was awarded their doctorate 5 years ago or less, or who has not completed a doctorate but has less than 10 years experience as an academic, I invite you to join the ECR Network and take part in its activities.
If you are an eligible ALLA member and would like to join the network please email law-alla@unimelb.edu.au.
Upcoming and Recent Event
Friday 13 November 2020 - ALLA ECR 2020 Online Conference
The online ECR Conference was held featuring papers presented by ALLA ECR members Angelo Capuano; Jacqueline Meredith, Dr Gabrielle Golding, Emma Babbage, Melissa Kennedy and Renee Burns. Professor Anthony Forsyth acted as discussant on the day.
Friday 13 November 2020 - #ALLAECRSeminarSeries
ECR Coordinator Dr Gabrielle Golding hosted Emerita Professor Rosemary Owens AO presenting the seminar 'Developing a Career as a Labour Law Researcher'.
Friday 25 September 2020 - #ALLAECRSeminarSeries
ECR Coordinator Dr Gabrielle Golding hosted Associate Professor Dominique Allen presenting the seminar 'Effective Writing Strategies'.
28 August 2020 - #ALLAECRSeminarSeries
ECR Coordinator Dr Gabrielle Golding played host to Professor Andrew Stewart presenting the seminar 'Publishing in the Field of Labour Law'.
7 April 2020 - What do meanings of wellbeing mean for me right now?
Presented by Emma Babbage this seminar will extract some key meanings of wellbeing which she has been looking at in her PhD research, and what they could mean for you at this time. After opening the conversation, Emma will invite discussion from the attendees to share ideas and concerns about managing our wellbeing.
27 November 2019
A successful day-long workshop was held at the Melbourne Law School and featured presentations from Associate Professor Alysia Blackham, Professor Belinda Smith, Professor Carolyn Sutherland, and Dr Dominique Allen.