Matthew J Follett SC | Victorian Bar

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Date of Admission:

31 Mar 2003

First Signed Bar Roll:

22 May 2008

Date Appointed Silk:

18 Oct 2023

Division of Bar Roll:

Victorian Practising Counsel

Qualifications:

LLB (Hons), BCOM

Previous Occupation:

Senior Associate, Freehills

Profile:

Matthew is a leading industrial relations and employment barrister with extensive experience acting for many of Australia's largest companies in all jurisdictions. Matthew has a national practice and appears for clients across Australia in all areas of industrial and employment law, including an extensive appellate practice in both the Federal Court and the Fair Work Commission.

Matthew has particular experience in the building and construction, infrastructure, maintenance and engineering, mining, oil and gas, airlines, maritime, stevedoring, logistics and the metal/electrical trades industries, as well as with a broad range of State and Federal Government agencies and instrumentalities.

Before joining the Bar in 2008, Matthew was a Senior Associate at Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) in its Employee Relations Group. Matthew spent 2003 as Associate to Senior Deputy President Cartwright of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, based in Sydney.

Matthew was regularly named as “preeminent” in the category of Junior Counsel in the Doyle’s Guide, Leading Employment & Industrial Relations Barristers, in both Melbourne and Australia. After taking silk in 2023, Matthew was named in the Senior Counsel category in 2024 as "leading" in Victoria and "recommended" in Australia.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation. The information referred to above has been supplied by the barrister concerned. Neither Victorian Bar Inc nor the barrister's clerk have independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the information and neither accepts any responsibility in that regard.