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Steve Bowler
Director
Steve Bowler has more than a decade of experience advising and assisting clients in resolving employment and workplace issues, including redundancy, workplace disputes, discrimination and harassment, contract and policy review, and workplace health and safety obligations.
Steve is experienced in mediation and conciliation for clients in unfair dismissal matters and other workplace disputes. Steve has represented clients in numerous formal mediation and conciliation conferences in the Fair Work Commission (FWC), the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) and the WA Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC).
Steve has acted and appeared for clients in major workplace-related litigation, including workplace safety prosecutions, before the Magistrates Court of Western Australia, the District Court of Western Australia, the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the Federal Court of Australia.
- Advising and assisting clients from various industries, including the resources and retail sectors, on managing serious workplace health and safety incidents, including advising on:
- Responding to, and investigating the incident
- Liaising with regulators, including Worksafe, Comcare and the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
- Supporting employees during interviews with regulators
- Representing clients in subsequent prosecutions before the Magistrates Court of Western Australia and the Federal Court of Australia
- Representing clients in achieving settlement or successful resolution of unfair dismissal and employment termination disputes that were subject to formal mediation or conciliation before the FWC, the WAIRC and the FCFCOA.
- Reviewing and amending workplace health and safety, discrimination, bullying and harassment policies to ensure compliance with new obligations imposed under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) for a communications and public relations business.
- Assisting a logistics provider in responding to charges made in relation to an alleged breach of the Heavy Vehicle National Law and assisting in preparing an enforceable undertaking, which was accepted in place of a prosecution.
- Advising a major client in the hospitality industry regarding obligations under workplace health and safety legislation in relation to non-quarantine staff working in hotels used for quarantine purposes because of COVID-19.
- Advising a client in the manufacturing industry regarding consultation obligations and a communication strategy with employees in relation to a proposed business restructuring and office closure.
- Assisting a client in the IT industry with successfully implementing a consultation and redundancy process across different departments following a series of internal restructurings.
- Advising clients on obligations, strategies and best practices in managing and accommodating employees with mental health issues.
Education
- University of Western Australia, Bachelor of Laws, Honours, 2007
- University of Western Australia, Diploma of Education, 1991
- University of Western Australia, Bachelor of Arts in English, Honours, 1990
Admissions
- High Court of Australia, 2012
- Federal Court of Australia, 2012
- Supreme Court of Western Australia, 2009
Memberships & Affiliations
- Member, Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia
- Member, The University Club of Western Australia
- Presenter, “2023 Domestic Violence and Workplaces”, The Piddington Society and Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia Seminar, 21 February 2023.
- Co-author, “Safety in Australia’s Gig Economy – What’s Changed?” International Employment Lawyer, 19 January 2022.
- Co-author, “A Time of Reckoning for Safety in the Gig Economy?” International Employment Lawyer, 7 May 2021.