Industrial Officer Liam Crisanti
At age 18, Liam Crisanti was tying the knot for people who had been waiting to get married longer than he’d been alive.
A new Industrial Officer with the IEU, Liam started his career straight from St Aloysius’ College in Milsons Point with the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
“I probably would have done about two or three dozen weddings. It was on the advent of the same-sex marriage amendment, so that was an interesting time. I needed to help align the policies of the Registry to fit in with the new amendments,” Liam said.
“It was beautiful to see those changes allow people who already considered themselves married but hadn’t been recognised under law to become so.”
While working, Liam also studied International Relations at the University of Sydney.
“I moved to the Information and Privacy Commission. I was interacting more with the legal side of things there and that’s where I started to develop an appreciation for the law, and how it works in everyday life.
“I completed my first degree and decided I wanted to get involved with the law, so I started a Juris Doctor at Sydney University.
“About midway through that degree I started working at Turner Freeman Lawyers. My grandfather was a shipwright and unfortunately contracted asbestosis. He was going through the process of getting compensated for that and I would go along to support him.
“One day I was sitting in the office with the Managing Partner, and he said, ‘well, if you haven’t got a job, come work for us’. That’s how I started there.”
Liam’s grandfather and his parents are strong union advocates. Both his parents have worked for unions and now work for the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.
Liam opted to study labour law at university, and ended up winning a university prize.
“When I started working at Turner Freeman, it was dust diseases work, then workers compensation as well. But my interest was really employment law. I started taking on more of those duties. It’s a national firm, so it gave me wide exposure to the practice area, including working with unions, unfair dismissals general protections claims and underpayment claims.”
On completing his Juris Doctor with distinction, Liam took a leading role in Turner Freeman’s employment law practice, including in a large class action in the banking sector, regaining millions of dollars in underpayments for workers.
“I gained a role with the Australian and International Pilots’ Association and that reinforced to me that that was exactly the kind of work that I wanted to do. At the same time, I was a finalist in the 2023 John Curtin Research Centre Young Writers’ Prize, having an essay on unionism published in their bi-annual magazine.
“It also gave me a broader understanding of the different work that unions do, not just on the legal side, but on the bargaining side and on the rule-making side. The role at the IEU presented itself, and I felt like I had the opportunity to make a difference with a broad cross-section of workers.
“It’s been great and very busy, which I enjoy. I like a good challenge and grappling with new things. I hope to bring some useful experience with me to benefit our members.”
