Hiranya Ekanayke

Hiranya graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of International Studies from the University of Adelaide, and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University.

Hiranya has a background in trade unionism and worked as an industrial advocate at the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) representing federal government employees, the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) representing disability support workers and psychiatric nurses, and most recently the Retail and Fast-Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), representing retail and fast-food workers. In these roles Hiranya has been exposed to a variety of industries and industrial matters across multiple jurisdictions. She has worked on several enterprise bargaining campaigns supporting workers through the process of enterprise bargaining as well as protected industrial action.

At RAFFWU Hiranya ran successful individual and collective disputes around workplace health and safety issues, flexible working arrangements and roster issues, as well as dismissal claims against a variety of employers from small to medium sized businesses to large corporate employers. She was exposed to how staunch unionism can fundamentally change the relationship between workers and their employer.

Hiranya has a strong commitment to representing various marginalised groups with a particular interest around racial discrimination. She has volunteered with asylum seekers detained in immigration detention through Darwin Asylum Seeker and Support network, as well as the criminal law unit at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in Katherine, Northern Territory.