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CAF Certification Panel

Jeff Lawerson

Jeffrey Lawrence

Chairperson

Jeffrey Lawrence is the Chair of the Cleaning Accountability Framework’s (CAF) independent Certification Panel, having joined in 2023.

Jeffrey has had a long and distinguished career including serving in some of the most senior Industrial Relations roles in the country. He has served as the national secretary of the then-LHMU (now United Workers Union), the secretary of the ACTU and as Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission.

Jeffrey leads the work of the CAF Certification Panel, coordinating the determination of the certification status of buildings and portfolios that been nominated for CAF Certification and cleaning contractors that have applied for CAF Prequalification. As part of his leadership of the Certification Panel, Jeff provides advice on complex labour and supply chain issues and contributes to setting robust standards for the industry to support the amelioration of cleaners’ working lives and responsible business practices.

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Nicola Street

Panel member

Nicola is a workplace law expert with over two decades of practice in employment and industrial law, organisational change, anti-discrimination and work, health and safety. She is the Principal of Street Workplace Law, a workplace law consultancy helping employers with their workplace issues.

Nicola was previously a workplace relations policy and legal Director for peak employer association Australian Industry Group, where she spent nearly two decades advising employers on workplace matters, and working closely with the Australian Government, trade unions and other stakeholders to shape Australia’s workplace relations system.

Nicola has advised and represented various ASX-listed and multi-national across a wide range of industries. She has provided her industry and legal policy expertise to various advisory groups and has held numerous positions, including as a member of the NSW Government’s Council for Women’s Economic Opportunity, SafeWork NSW’s Respect@Work Advisory Group, and as an industry representative on the Australian Government’s Respect@Work Council and Australian Government’s Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group.

Nick Whyte

Nicholas Whyte

Panel Member

Nick Whyte is an Assistant Director at the Fair Work Ombudsman, where he leads a team of Inspectors in the investigation of workplace disputes. In 11 years at the workplace regulator, he has developed an in-depth knowledge of Australian workplace law and seen first-hand the exploitation faced by vulnerable workplace participants. He has also developed a keen sense of the barriers that prevent businesses from complying with the law.

Having previously led the FWO’s compliance response to underpayments in the cleaning sector, Nick commenced sitting as a member of the CAF Certification Panel in 2020. In this role he has used industrial relations knowledge and relationship building skill to advance the growth of CAF as a robust compliance mechanism.

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Martijn Boersma

Panel Member

Martijn Boersma is an Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. He previously worked at both the University of Notre Dame Australia and the University of Technology Sydney, and his earlier engagements at Greenpeace International and in the trade union movement exposed him to the complex realities of environmental and social accountability.

Throughout his scholarly pursuits, he has examined issues of modern slavery and labour exploitation, and the ways in which businesses respond to stakeholder expectations. His work highlights how supply chain oversight and corporate decision-making intertwine with ethical labour standards and underlines how robust governance models can integrate social and environmental values into broader corporate objectives, ultimately advancing more sustainable and equitable ways of doing business.

Rebecca Stark

Rebecca Stark

Panel member

Rebecca is a Coordinator of Property Services at the United Workers Union, and is responsible for the union’s investor strategy and stakeholder engagement.  Rebecca has worked in the union movement for 15 years, in various research, campaign, responsible investment and capital stewardship roles. Throughout that time, she has maintained a focus on working with the union’s cleaning members to campaign for better wages and conditions, and to ensure their hard work is valued and respected.

In 2013, Rebecca worked with CAF’s founding partner, AustralianSuper, to set up the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF). Rebecca was previously an employee nominated director on the board of the industry superannuation fund, Hostplus.

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Nikkita Venville

Panel Member

Nikkita Venville is a Senior Counsel in a large public sector organisation. She is admitted to both the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. Equipped with a Master of Laws in Workplace and Employment Law from Monash University, Nikkita combines her academic expertise with over a decade of practical experience from both the private and public sectors, advising employers and individuals on all issues relating to the employment relationship and industrial law.

Before her current position, Nikkita built a strong foundation in industrial relations as an Industrial Officer at two prominent unions: the previous iteration of the United Workers Union and The Police Association of Victoria, where she advanced significant gender equality reforms and conditions for its members.  With experience as a Senior Advisor at the Fair Work Commission and as an Associate to a presidential member of the Commission, she has a profound understanding of fostering positive workplace relations through cooperative approaches.

Cleaning Accountability Framework Ltd.