The ser­vice sec­tor con­sti­tutes the bulk of Australia’s econ­o­my, con­tribut­ing an esti­mat­ed 80% of val­ue added and 88% of employ­ment. A diverse sec­tor, encom­pass­ing clean­ing ser­vices to med­i­cine to account­ing and man­age­ment con­sult­ing which means dif­fer­ent ser­vice indus­tries oper­at­ing in very dif­fer­ent ways.

Growth in many ser­vice indus­tries (includ­ing finance, ICT and trans­port) has out­paced the goods sec­tor by a sig­nif­i­cant mar­gin over the past few decades. Our expe­ri­ence and deep exper­tise across this vast sec­tor helps set us apart in the mar­ket place.

We are renowned for our com­mer­cial legal exper­tise and indus­try knowl­edge, which means we can expert­ly guide our clients through each stage of their busi­ness cycle.

Our Team

Portrait photograph of James Skelton
James Skelton
Partner
Portrait photograph of Angela Harvey
Angela Harvey
Partner
Portrait photograph of Marc Baddams
Marc Baddams
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Treeby
Michael Treeby
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Hayter
Michael Hayter
Partner
Portrait photograph of Gerald Carides
Gerald Carides
Partner
Portrait photograph of Michael Byrnes
Michael Byrnes
Partner
Portrait photograph of Nick Dale
Nick Dale
Partner
Portrait photograph of Anna Sharpe
Anna Sharpe
Consultant
Portrait photograph of Esther Khoo
Esther Khoo
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of John Trinh
John Trinh
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Jennifer Hold
Jennifer Hold
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Nicholas Hufton
Nicholas Hufton
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Kellie Van Munster
Kellie Van Munster
Special Counsel
Portrait photograph of Daniel Miller
Daniel Miller
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Lynn Hawes
Lynn Hawes
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Rebecca Priem
Rebecca Priem
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Stevie-Lee Nobbs
Associate
Portrait photograph of William Clement
William Clement
Senior Associate
Portrait photograph of Kathryn Schultz
Kathryn Schultz
Associate
Portrait photograph of Hugo Mahony
Hugo Mahony
Associate*

We can assist you with all of your legal needs includ­ing struc­tur­ing your busi­ness, draft­ing con­tracts, pri­va­cy and data require­ments, pro­tect­ing your brand and intel­lec­tu­al prop­er­ty and buy­ing or sell­ing businesses.

Use­ful links:

No mat­ter how rou­tine or com­plex the busi­ness issues you face, Mer­i­tas’ net­work of law firms is with you every step of the way. Mar­ket-lead­ing firms offer a full range of legal ser­vices, which enable you to do busi­ness any­where. Wise coun­sel and prac­ti­cal solu­tions are just a phone call or e‑mail away. Dis­cov­er the breadth and depth of the prac­tice and indus­try sec­tor capa­bil­i­ties avail­able to you through Meritas.

Publications

Copy­right and Gen­er­a­tive AI: what Aus­tralia can learn from the Meta and Anthrop­ic Rulings

In 2025, two U.S. court deci­sions, Kadrey v. Meta and Bartz v. Anthrop­ic, have pro­vid­ed the first real judi­cial answers…

Fed­er­al Court Deci­sion Lim­its Effec­tive Use of Set-Off in Con­trac­tu­al Annu­al Salary Arrangements

The Deci­sionIn a recent Fed­er­al Court deci­sion*, Jus­tice Per­ram held that while con­trac­tu­al set-off claus­es in an annu­al salary arrange­ment can…

Pro­tect­ing your tomor­row, today: The impor­tance of an endur­ing pow­er of attorney

We often talk about the impor­tance of draft­ing your estate plan­ning doc­u­ments, includ­ing how draft­ing your will can ensure your…

In the News

Sarah Heuv­el pro­vides insight into get­ting Rent Roll Trans­ac­tions Com­pli­ance Compliant

Sarah Heuv­el in an inter­view with Matthew Cial­lel­la of MC Broking & Advi­so­ry, dis­cuss rent roll trans­ac­tions and the three key…

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with Evan Lucas on 2GB on 8 Sep­tem­ber 2025 to dis­cuss the recent Fed­er­al Court deci­sion relat­ing to salary arrange­ments, set-off claus­es and award compliance

Michael Byrnes appeared on Mon­ey News with Evan Lucas on 2GB on 8 Sep­tem­ber 2025 to dis­cuss the recent Fed­er­al Court…

Michael Byrnes has pub­lished an arti­cle titled ​“Use of AI Crit­i­cised by FWC” in HR Leader on 2 Sep­tem­ber 2025.

Michael Byrnes has pub­lished an arti­cle titled ​“Use of AI Crit­i­cised by FWC” in HR Leader on 2 Sep­tem­ber 2025.To read the…