Manager Industrial Relations

State Government of Victoria, Australia; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Wellness program

Onsite childcare

Mentoring and career development

Job summary

Austin Health is seeking a seasoned Workplace Relations professional to design, implement and operate an enterprise-wide governance framework for workplace relations and pay compliance. You will partner with HR Systems, Payroll, HR Operations, Enterprise Risk and Legal to translate obligations into effective controls, monitored over time, and remediated where issues emerge.

You will be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, HR People Partners and unions, engaging with employee representatives to

Qualifications

• Seasoned industrial relations professional in a large, unionised workforce.
• Strong working knowledge of Australia’s industrial relations system.
• Experience investigating and resolving complex IR issues in large organisations.
• Experience establishing and operating governance frameworks and controls.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and operate an enterprise-wide governance framework for workplace relations and pay compliance.
• Partner with HR Systems, Payroll, HR Operations, Enterprise Risk and Legal to translate obligations into controls.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and engage with unions and employee representatives.

Skills

Industrial relations

IR system knowledge

Issue resolution

Governance & controls

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Location: Melbourne - CBD and Inner Metro suburbs

Reference: 6216

If yes, please log in to the Austin Health careers website via ‘Employee Login’ using your network login details to search, view and apply for all career opportunities available.

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives.

About Workplace Relations

You will have accountability for designing, implementing and operating an enterprise-wide governance framework for workplace relations and pay compliance obligations, partnering closely with HR Systems, Payroll, HR Operations, Enterprise Risk, and Legal to ensure compliance obligations are translated into effective controls, monitored over time, and remediated where issues emerge. You will be a trusted advisor to senior leaders, HR People Partners and the broader People & Culture team, and engage constructively with unions and employee representatives.

About you

To be successful in this role, you'll bring with you:

• Demonstrated experience as a seasoned industrial relations professional, operating in a unionised environment with a large complex workforce.
• Strong working knowledge of Australia’s industrial relations system.
• Experience managing the investigation and resolution of difficult, complex or high-profile industrial relations issues within a large organisation.
• Demonstrated experience establishing and operating compliance governance frameworks and controls, including leading remediation activity.
• Proven ability to engage, build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation.
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program.
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options.
• Mentoring and career development opportunities.

Work with us!

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. Austin Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards.If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager:Gus Lancaster, Director Workplace Relations at [e-mail]

Applications close Sunday 4 October 2026 at 11.59pm