Jeff Lawrence

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Secretary - Australian Council of Trade Unions

March 17, 2010

"Securing jobs and rights for working Australians"

Since his election as Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in August 2007, Jeff Lawrence has steered the union movement in a new direction under a Labor Government.


Under his stewardship, the ACTU was a key negotiator in the drafting of the Fair Work Act, which features a guaranteed safety net of rights and conditions, improved protection from unfair dismissal, the abolition of Australian Workplace Agreements, an independent umpire, and rights to collective bargaining.
Jeff has devoted his entire career to advancing the interests of working Australians, particularly the low-paid.


Prior to joining the ACTU, he headed one of Australia’s largest unions – the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), a union with more than 130,000 members in the service, contract, childcare, aged care and health industries.


Under his leadership, the union reversed the decline in membership, achieving modest growth against the wider trend.


After coming to the ACTU, Jeff joined with ACTU President Sharan Burrow to co-ordinate the Your Rights at Work campaign against the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws.


Among his achievements at the ACTU, in 2009 he helped broker a new set of government procurement guidelines that place greater emphasis on Australian jobs and workplace rights.


Unions under his watch have successfully advocated for economic stimulus measures to protect Australian jobs during the downturn.


Jeff was born in Newcastle in 1952, and has a degree in Arts/Law (Hons) from Sydney University.


His father Barry was a panel beater and auto mechanic and his mother Elaine a typist and stenographer.


He is married to Judith and lives in Melbourne.