Redundancies and terminations are part and parcel of a high-growth startup as it evolves. But in 2026, founders across Australia have been subjected to a barrage of AI-generated Fair Work claims and other employment disputes, often with no reasonable grounds.

And while making a claim as an employee can be as straightforward as prompting a free LLM to draft an email, the onus falls on founders and their teams to respond accurately, affordably and in a way that stands up to scrutiny.

In this special Spark Festival Lunch & Learn, we will hear how you should best navigate this new paradigm of AI-generated claims, and how you should set up your employment arrangements to ensure you are as well positioned as possible, should such claims arise in future.

Our guides will be two of Australia’s most prominent practitioners:

Michael Gonski is an Employment Partner at global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, whose practice spans everything from startups to governments and large listed corporations. Michael is nationally recognised as a leading employment lawyer and is also an experienced board director.

Dominic Woolrych is the Co-Founder and CEO of LawPath, Australia’s largest legal tech platform serving startups and small businesses – where access to legal advice is challenging. Lawpath combines AI-powered automation with real lawyers and accountants, so every business gets the support it needs without the cost or complexity of traditional advisors.

When: Tuesday 22 September, 12:30pm–1:30pm

Where: Stone & Chalk, Level 1, 477 Pitt Street, Sydney

And as with all Spark Festival events, this presentation will be free of charge and open to all.

Don’t miss out – spaces are limited! Register now to secure your spot.

We are grateful to our hosts Stone & Chalk for providing their fantastic event space at Tech Central, and to the Spark Foundation Sponsors – City of Sydney, Decidr, HSF Kramer and UTS.

This session is presented by the Spark Foundation as part of Spark Festival 2026 – Australia’s largest startup event, now in its 11th year. Learn more at https://spark.org.au/festival

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