Wage Rise Ahead: What the 2025-26 Minimum Wage Increase Means for Employers
From 1 July 2025, Australia’s national minimum wage and all modern award minimum wage rates
Solicitor Director Commercial & Corporate
Tim Osborn holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Business from the University of Newcastle and has been qualified as a solicitor since 2004.
Tim was previously employed as Associate in charge of the business and corporate team at a large Newcastle law firm where he concentrated on commercial transaction work and commercial litigation before founding Osborn Law in January 2011.
Tim regularly advises clients and their financial and accounting advisors on:
He further assists clients in making certain they have adequate tools in place to ensure their dealings with customers and suppliers do not expose them to undue business risk. This includes advising on and preparing credit application forms, general terms of trade, director’s guarantees and providing advice on general commercial debt recovery methods.
Tim prides himself on providing accurate, relevant, timely, and above all, practical advice to his clients.
Tim is an Honorary Commander in the Hunter Defence Support Network (HDSN) which was formed in 2015 as a single-purpose community support and advocacy group focused on improving the lifestyle of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families whilst posted to the Hunter Region.
He is a member of the Camp Quality Newcastle MotoCyc committee responsible for organising the annual fundraiser motorbike ride through country NSW combining his passion for motorbike riding and supporting great local charities.
Tim is also a former Director on the Board of NUSport (2008-2018), an incorporated body of the University of Newcastle which is responsible for the development of sport and fitness through services, facilities and activities, along with being a member of their Finance and Infrastructure Committees.
When not in the office, Tim loves spending time with his family, being outside and being active. Tim is a keen dirt bike rider and four wheel driver, and enjoys the bush and camping.
Solicitor Director Employment & Litigation
Christie Howson brings a wealth of experience to Osborn Law in the constantly changing and ever challenging area of employment law. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Accounting) and has been qualified as a solicitor since 2000.
Christie has practiced extensively in this area for over 25 years and some of the work that she has performed involved the following:
Drafting industrial documentation including common law employment contracts, subcontractor agreements and enterprise agreements for a large mining contractor
Advising on compliance with workplace laws and in particular, the Fair Work Act 2009 and Modern Award compliance for many industries including manufacturing, black coal, retail, administrative and hospitality
Enterprise Agreement negotiations, strategy advice and complying with Fair Work requirements for ratifying
Advising on terminating problem employees in order to reduce exposure to an unfair dismissal or general protections claim, including but not limited to performance and conduct issues, redundancy, medical retirement
Appearing at Fair Work Australia on behalf of clients to defend unfair dismissal and general protections claims
Assisting an engineering client who bought a business to understand the legal obligations of transferring employees
Advising a construction client on restraint of trade issues when a senior manager resigned and attempted to solicit clients
Appearing in a case for our client which involved in a claim for damages of $750,000.00 in the Federal Court in Queensland for an adverse action claim for breach of the general protections provision of the Fair Work legislation
Advising client in the medical field on the use of subcontractor agreements and License agreements
Assisting client in the amusement industry to respond to an audit by the Fair Work Ombudsman
Conducting an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment
Provide advice on compliance with Work Health and safety Act 2011
Christie regularly conducts in house training sessions for Osborn law’s client employers to assist our clients and their managers on how to deal with effective performance management, and bullying and harassment claims. She has also conducted workplace investigations into claims.
Christie also worked for 4 years in a national law firm in insurance law where she acted on behalf of workers compensation insurers. This background assists greatly in employment law work when complex workers compensation issues are involved.
In addition to the employment law work, Christie manages major commercial litigation disputes, particularly those in the Supreme Court of NSW but also in the District and Local Courts.
Christie is a former Director of the Hunter Defence Support Network (HDSN) which was formed in 2015 as a single-purpose community support and advocacy group focused on improving the lifestyle of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families whilst posted to the Hunter Region.
From 1 July 2025, Australia’s national minimum wage and all modern award minimum wage rates
Leaving a gift to charity in your will is a very personal decision. Many people
Assets held in trusts can be problematic when it comes to estate planning. Why? Because
Do you believe that having a trust in place means the assets of the trust
We have a strong community focus and commitment and ensure that we support and continually contribute to the communities in which we live.
Organisations we currently support as a firm include:
Subscribe to our newsletter