EXPERIENCE & EXPERTISE

Joy has practised extensively in both Australia and New Zealand, acting for employers ranging from small businesses to large corporates, government organisations, and insurers. Her experience spans employment litigation, workplace investigations, discrimination, adverse action and unfair dismissal claims, restraint of trade disputes, executive employment issues, and workplace health and safety matters.

Joy has experience managing large-scale and complex litigation. She works closely with clients to navigate legal, operational and reputational risk, focusing on achieving efficient and commercially sensible outcomes. She is known for her strong advocacy, strategic judgment and pragmatic approach to dispute resolution.

Joy regularly appears in the Fair Work Commission, Federal Court, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and Human Rights Commission. She has also appeared before the New Zealand Employment Relations Authority, and Employment Court of New Zealand.

Her cross-jurisdictional experience enables her to provide strategic and commercially focused advice across a broad range of workplace and dispute resolution matters.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Joy’s notable experience includes:

• Successfully representing South-East Monash Legal Service in resisting a substantially out-of-time general protections application, with the Fair Work Commission refusing an extension of time and dismissing the claim. The Commission found the applicant had not established exceptional circumstances to justify the delay, noting she had demonstrated the capacity to manage other legal, administrative, and personal affairs during the relevant period (Maciaga v South-East Monash Legal Service Inc [2025] FWC 3824)
• Successfully representing McDonald's Australia in a jurisdictional challenge to a general protections dismissal application, with the Fair Work Commission dismissing the employee's claim. The Commission exercised its discretion to dismiss the proceedings under s 587 of the Fair Work Act 2009 due to the applicant's repeated non-compliance and lack of engagement with the process (Selim v McDonald's Australia Limited [2024] FWC 3225)
• Successfully representing the employer in a complex unfair dismissal claim arising from the breakdown of both employment and family relationships within a family-owned real estate business. The Fair Work Commission found the application had been lodged 165 days out of time, determined there were no exceptional circumstances justifying an extension, and dismissed the claim (Exton v Exton's Real Estate Pty Ltd [2024] FWC 1178)
• Successfully opposing an application by a labour-hire worker to join Passion Fresh as a controlling third party to a personal grievance, in one of New Zealand’s first cases under the tripartite employment relationship regime. The Authority dismissed the joinder application and removed Passion Fresh from the proceedings, effectively bringing the claim to an end (Hu v Passion Fresh Limited & Whver Hub Limited [2023] NZERA 54)
• Successfully obtaining an interim injunction enforcing a post-employment restraint of trade against a former manager who sought to join a direct competitor in New Zealand’s niche ski travel market. The New Zealand Employment Relations Authority found the six-month non-compete clause was reasonable and necessary to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests, restraining the employee from working for the competitor until 1 May 2023 and enforcing a 12-month non-solicitation obligation (Concept Travel Ltd t/a Ski Travel Specialists v Teixeira [2023] NZERA 47)
• Project-managed and acted for of all of the Licensee respondents in the McDonalds Rest Breaks litigation, one of Australia's largest employment class actions currently going through Federal Court of Australia. Her role included coordinating legal strategy and liaising with multiple stakeholders
• Managing multiple complex internal workplace investigations and regulatory investigations for a large regional private school in Victoria
• Advising a multi-sited school on successful industrial negotiations for an enterprise agreement in Western Australia.