Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to note the recent death of the Hon. Geoffrey Giudice AO, the former president of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the former president of Fair Work Australia and a judge of the Federal Court. Geoff was president of the commission during my term as Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

Born in Bendigo, Geoff attended Xavier College in Melbourne before studying law at the University of Melbourne, where he was a resident of Newman College. He subsequently worked for the Hospital Employees Federation and for the Myer Emporium, as their national workplace relations manager, before undertaking articles at Moule, Hamilton and Derham, where he became a partner.

Geoff signed the bar roll in 1984 and practised in employment and industrial relations, often representing the oil and mining industries. Geoff also represented airlines during the 1989 Australian pilots dispute. He represented both federal and state governments and appeared in national wage cases on a regular basis. He was appointed president of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and a judge of the Federal Court in 1997. During his tenure he was involved in the very substantial award modernisation scheme that went on during those years.

After retiring he served as a professional fellow at the University of Melbourne and on other bodies, including as chair of the AFL Tribunal and the AFL Appeals Board. I extend my condolences to his wife, Beth, and his family.