Government Litigation Review
This seminar will prepare you and your Department for responses to Royal Commissions and Boards of Inquiry in addition to providing practical guidance on how to run an AAT hearing in the current times. This is a must attend seminar for legal practitioners in Federal, State or Local Government Departments and Agencies, including legal advisers and practitioners handling disputes or litigation proceedings.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Brenda Robbins, Barrister, Murray Chambers
9.00am to 10.00am: Responding to a Royal Commission or Boards of Inquiry
- Preparing a department or agency’s response
- Advice and preparation of government witnesses
- Privileges applying to government
- Model litigant obligations
Presented by Andrew Suddick, Senior Legal and Contracts Manger, Agriculture Victoria Services
10.00am to 11.00am: Litigation Against Government Agencies
- Recent statutory inquiries which have resulted in large negligence actions against government agencies
- Recent decisions in respect of negligence actions against government agencies for their responses to bushfires, flu outbreaks and shipwrecks and some of the considerations that courts have considered to establish a duty of care and causation
- Statutory defences: sections 42 and 43A Civil Liability Act 2002
- Recent consideration of the Limitation Act 1969
Presented by Michael Sullivan, Partner and Maria Panos, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright
11.00am to 11.10am Break
11.10am to 12.10pm: Running Administrative Appeals Tribunal Hearings in Current Times
- The role of the Tribunal
- Reviewing the decision and new evidence
- Model litigant obligations in the Tribunal
- Running matters remotely
Presented by Arran Gerrard, Senior Lawyer, Australian Government Solicitor
12.10pm to 1.10pm: Appeals from Regulatory Decisions in the AAT to the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court
Drawing on examples relating to taxation, migration, citizenship and, professional and corporate regulation, gain insights on
- Jurisdiction of courts
- Drafting notices of appeal
- New evidence on appeal
- Applications to stay regulatory enforcement e.g. deregistration of tax agent; ASIC banning orders
- Applications for extensions of time for review of regulatory decisions
Presented by Michael Bersten, Barrister, New Chambers
Presenters
Brenda Robbins, Barrister, Murray Chambers
Brenda Robbins is a barrister and nationally accredited mediator. Her practice includes administrative law (including migration law), commercial law, criminal law and mediation. She appears in courts and tribunals in the State (WA) and federal jurisdictions and provides legal advice. Prior to her legal career she was a CEO and senior executive in a number of State Government agencies including Landbank (now Landcorp), Subiaco Redevelopment Authority and was the Assistant Public Service Commissioner and Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment. In 2014 she was inducted into the Western Australian Women's Hall of Fame.
Andrew Suddick, Senior Legal and Contracts Manager, Agriculture Victoria Services (AVS)
Andrew was appointed Senior Legal and Contracts Manager in November 2019. Andrew is responsible for providing legal and contract management advice across the AVS business including advice on investment projects, research projects, commercialisation activities and intellectual property management. Andrew was admitted as a solicitor in England in 1990 and in Victoria in 1998. He has extensive experience in private practice in England and Australia, and in the public sector having most recently been General Counsel at the Victorian Government Solicitors Office. Andrew has managed responses to two Royal Commissions and two Boards of Inquiry.
Michael Sullivan, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
Michael Sullivan is a disputes lawyer based in Sydney. He acts for both public and private sector clients. Michael has experience in litigation, inquires and alternative forms of dispute resolution. His focus has been on providing litigation and advisory support to government clients for over 12 years. He has assisted his clients with prosecutions, investigations, statutory inquiries and enforcement. His litigation experience includes general conduct of litigation: preparing proceedings, obtaining witness statements, liaising with counsel and the management of discovery and production obligations in answer to subpoenas.
Maria Panos, Special Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright
Maria Panos is a litigation and dispute resolution lawyer based in Sydney. In 2017 she was awarded Senior Associate of the Year in the Women in Law Awards for her litigation work at the NSW Police Force on the Lindt Cafe Siege Inquest, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and Cunneen Special Commission of Inquiry. Maria has extensive experience acting for state and commonwealth government departments.
Arran Gerrard, Senior Lawyer, Australian Government Solicitor
Arran practises in administrative law, principally in migration proceedings, and native title. He regularly appears for Commonwealth agencies in the Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court and Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Prior to joining AGS in 2003, Arran was employed as a Senior Legal Officer with a Commonwealth agency in Canberra as well as a private firm in Perth.
Michael Bersten, Barrister, New Chambers
Michael Bersten has been in legal practice for 35 years. He specialises in litigation and advises on tax, corporate, commercial, trusts and equity matters. His clients include Commissioner of Taxation, business taxpayers, high wealth individuals and families.
Michael was a solicitor at AGS (1985-2001), Deputy Australian Government Solicitor (1996-1999), then ATO’s First Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Tax Counsel Network, ATO Legal, the GAAR Panel, Aggressive Tax Planning and Litigation Panel. Michael became partner at Deloitte (2001) then PwC (2004). Michael is a member of the tax committees of the Law Council and the Australian Bar Association.