Redundant after decades in TV, but the agreement never covered her job

Ms Michael began in television in February 1986 as a film editor with a company whose service was later recognised by Network 10. By 2020 she was "Executive Producer – Entertainment", overseeing programs such as Bondi Rescue, on a salary of $262,247.40. On 29 May 2020 she was made redundant.

She was paid a little over $255,000, including 12 weeks' severance. The Network 10 enterprise agreement was far more generous: for employees with more than 30 years' service it required 90 weeks' severance. She sued for 78 weeks more, $393,371.10.

Everything turned on whether the agreement covered her. It covered only employees in classifications listed in schedules to the Broadcasting, Recorded Entertainment and Cinemas Award. Ms Michael said she fitted "Producer" in a clause headed "Producer/Director's Assistant/VCG Operator". She was unusually hands-on for an executive, still editing video, operating cameras and shooting publicity photographs.

Justice Snaden accepted that the clause was confusingly drafted, blaming its "liberal use—perhaps overuse—of virgules" (forward slashes). Read in context, it covered people employed to assist producers and directors, not producers themselves, let alone executive producers. Many awards do not cover senior managers, and Ms Michael "was an executive who managed the production of television shows". Her hands-on work, though "undoubtedly to her credit", did not change that.

The agreement did not apply to her, so Network 10 did not have to pay its severance scale. The claim was dismissed.