Melissa Carnell
Special Counsel
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
Related services and key industries
Biography
Melissa is a work health and safety lawyer based in Sydney.
Melissa has 7 years of experience in understanding and advising in relation to management systems (including due diligence frameworks for officers) for satisfaction of work health and safety duties, major project contractual safety models, and safety prosecutions. This has given her enormous value to clients in the current landscape of an intensified lens on officers and organisations to address industrial manslaughter laws, and emerging health and safety risks which are arising through complex supply chains.
Professional experience
Collapse all- Undertaking a mapping exercise for a national major infrastructure and construction company of its safety management system arrangements for each element of the due diligence obligation imposed on officers under the WHS laws.
- Assisting a national major infrastructure and construction company in responding to proceedings brought against it for alleged breaches of WHS laws following a fatal incident on a large construction project for which it was principal contractor.
- Assisting a large multinational construction company in responding to an electric shock incident that occurred on a railway construction project for which it was principal contractor, including providing assistance to its employees during witness interviews conducted by the safety regulator.
- Advising a large multinational infrastructure company of its statutory and contractual safety obligations in relation to various stages of work on a major railway construction project for which it was principal contractor, including its interactions with other parties involved on the project, and preparing a flow chart of incident notification obligations of the various project entities.
- Assisting a large national gas infrastructure operator in relation to the identification of asbestos in its electrical control rooms which are used to connect gas supply across regions in Australia, including assisting with the preparation of submissions to the safety regulator for an exemption from statutory requirements to remove the asbestos.
- Assisting a electricity distribution provider in preparation of a legislative compliance register addressing work health and safety, building safety, electrical safety, heavy vehicle safety and aviation safety laws.
- Undertaking a review for a national major infrastructure and construction company of its rail safety management system arrangements against the requirements of the rail safety national law.