Advice and consulting for organisations
Melanie Schleiger Legal works with organisations to create safer, fairer and more inclusive workplaces. Melanie has extensive leadership and advocacy experience, as well as deep discrimination law expertise. Her experience includes:
designing trauma-informed, client-centred legal services with lived-experience experts
advocating law and policy reform, including drafting submissions and leading strategic advocacy campaigns
giving expert evidence to federal and Victorian parliamentary inquiries and a federal royal commission
national collaboration, including co-leading a coalition of more than 80 organisations that successfully advocated for major reforms to Australia’s sexual harassment laws.
Project Based Consulting
Melanie Schleiger Legal is available to undertake project-based consulting work for organisations working to prevent and respond to discrimination and sexual harassment.
Melanie brings extensive experience in achieving systemic change through law reform, collaborative advocacy and stakeholder engagement, legal and policy research and the design of trauma-informed legal services.
Training & Specialist Briefings
Melanie can provide tailored training and briefings for boards, executives, managers, lawyers and other professionals on discrimination and sexual harassment law and prevention.
Topics can be tailored to the organisation and may include the positive duty, sexual harassment and sex discrimination law, responding to disclosures and complaints, victimisation, trauma-informed practice, and legal developments.
Organisations may seek specialist advice where a discrimination or sexual harassment matter raises complex legal, strategic or systemic issues.
Melanie can provide independent advice on the application of discrimination and employment laws, options for resolving difficult matters, systemic issues identified through individual complaints, and strategies for achieving fair outcomes.
Strategic Advice on Complex Matters
Trauma-informed & Person-centred Processes
Melanie can advise organisations on improving processes for responding to people who have experienced sexual harassment and discrimination.
This may include reviewing complaint and reporting pathways, support arrangements and communication practices through a trauma-informed and person-centred lens, with a focus on safety, dignity, choice and procedural fairness.
Melanie Schleiger Legal does some limited work with select organisations to prevent and respond to discrimination, sexual harassment and other unlawful conduct. She understands the challenges that organisations and employers can face and provides practical, evidence-informed advice. Melanie’s experience includes:
advising and representing employers on complex discrimination and workplace matters
conducting reviews and investigations of organisations and institutions
leading complex civil litigation and strategic advocacy to achieve individual and systemic outcomes.