Fair Work Commissioner Sophie Mirabella has had her caseload altered after the former Liberal MP was charged by police.
Mirabella, who represented the Victorian seat of Indi for 12 years, was listed to appear in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday after being charged over a matter that cannot be identified for legal reasons.
Mirabella did not appear in court and the matter was listed under her maiden name, Panopoulos.
Responding to the charges, the workplace watchdog told The Age it had changed Mirabella’s workload.
“The commission is aware of this matter and has adjusted the types of cases allocated to the commissioner having regard to her personal circumstances,” a spokesperson said.
“The commission won’t be making any further comment.”
The commission declined to say which cases would be removed from Mirabella’s list, whether existing cases had been reassigned or how long the new arrangements would be in place.
Mirabella, 57, lost the seat of Indi in the state’s north-east to independent Cathy McGowan in 2013 after 12 years in parliament.
She was appointed to the national workplace tribunal in 2021 by the Morrison government. She receives a total remuneration package worth more than $430,400 a year.
Her appointment was considered controversial at the time, with Labor arguing that having a former frontbench Liberal MP as commissioner risked politicising the independent workplace umpire.
The tribunal adjudicates industrial relations cases, including unfair dismissal claims, enterprise bargaining disputes and workplace bullying disputes.
According to The Border Mail, prosecutor Stuart Pritchard said there had been extensive court conferencing between police and defence ahead of Monday’s hearing.
No details of the allegations were aired in court and the nature of the charges cannot be reported due to legal restrictions. The matter was adjourned until October.
The case comes weeks after The Border Mail reported Mirabella’s husband Greg, who served as a Victorian senator before the 2022 federal election as well as president of the Victorian Liberal Party, was charged with assault-related offences.
The 65-year-old’s case will return to the same court next month.
Sophie Mirabella hung up when contacted for comment and Greg Mirabella said he couldn’t respond to questions.
Five sources who know the pair but spoke on the condition of anonymity told The Age the couple had recently separated.
In 2022, Greg Mirabella was elected president of the Victorian Liberal Party. Before entering politics he was an army officer from 1998 to 2007 and a farmer.
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Rachael Ward is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.ward@theage.com.auConnect via email.From our partners
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