Alena is a highly regarded health and safety lawyer with 20 years' experience. She is recognised for providing an empathic and multidisciplinary approach to all client health and safety regulatory needs.
Her practice spans both private and public sectors, with a focus on energy, gas, construction, infrastructure, mining, aviation, defence, transport and logistics.
Alena advises on occupational health and safety, psychosocial risk, security and anti-terrorism, biosecurity, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure security, product safety, maritime safety, aviation safety, mine safety, rail safety, construction safety, food safety, road safety and chain of responsibility.
She also provides a 24/7 incident response service for clients dealing with fatalities and serious incidents and conducts WHS investigations and WHS-related litigation.
Alena has significant experience in enabling improved operational performance across multiple sectors through the design and delivery of education and skill development programs and technology-enabled tools to support organisations to achieve WHS legal compliance.
She is recommended by both Chambers and the Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a “Leading Individual” in health and safety and has relationships with all health and safety regulators in all states and territories and at the federal level.
Work highlights
24/7 WHS incident response and investigation service
Retainer services with a number of companies, particularly in the property development, construction and infrastructure sectors, providing incident preparedness, 24/7 incident response, privileged incident investigation, notice review and response, interview representation and defence of prosecution services in relation to fatal and other serious incidents with regulatory experience in all Australian jurisdictions.
WHS legal compliance audits & safety culture maturity assessments
Providing officers with due diligence assurance through conducting safety culture maturity assessments and desktop and in person WHS legal compliance reviews and audits of WHS management systems, policies, procedures and practices for organisations across construction, infrastructure & utilities, property and facilities management, utilities, oil & gas, mining, agricultural, technology, defence industries and government agencies
WHS enforceable undertakings
Successfully secured withdrawal of two prosecution proceedings against one of Australia’s largest commercial building contractors following negotiation of a landmark enforceable undertaking with SafeWork NSW on behalf of the company in the context of a fatal incident.
Health and safety related commission and inquiries
Representing a security company in the Victorian COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry.
Psychosocial risk management gap analysis and “health check”
Conducting a psychosocial hazard and risk management gap analysis for a global infrastructure developer (including the topics of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment as psychosocial hazard categories).
Contractor safety management frameworks
Developing the contractor health and safety management framework for a major global property and facilities management company taking a lifecycle approach to contractors and subcontractors.