Effective Decision Making in Public Law
Walk away with the knowledge and skills to ensure your decisions withstand any level of scrutiny. Join a panel of leading administrative law practitioners and with them examine how to write a readable decision, the use of policy in Government decision making, the mechanics of challenging an administrative decision and recent significant court decisions affecting administrative practice.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: David Bennett AC QC, 5 Wentworth Chambers
9.00am to 9.05am: Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 10.00am: Making Lawful, Justifiable, Defensible and Readable Decisions
- Improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of decision-making
- Distinguishing between the questions to be answered and matters not directly relevant
- How to write a readable decisions
Presented by Suzanne Kirton, Senior Member, VCAT
10.00am to 10.55am: The Use of Policy in Government Decision Making
- The proper approach to policy: using it as a guide rather than a binding principle of law
- Relevant and irrelevant considerations: when government has to take policy into account
Presented by Farhana Islam, Senior Associate, Maddocks
10.55am to 11.10am: Morning Break
11.10am to 12.05pm: Challenges to Administrative Decisions
- The mechanics of challenges and reviews
- Which review? Comparing merits and judicial review
- Case studies and other examples
Presented by Brenda Tronson, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
12.05pm to 1.00pm: Recent Decision Making and Administrative Law Review Cases
Explore in detail recent significant superior court decisions affecting administrative Law practice and decision making.
Presented by Julie Zhou, Barrister, Howells' List Barristers
1.00pm to 1.10pm: Final Q&A and Closing Comments
Presenters
Suzanne Kirton, Senior Member, VCAT
Suzanne Kirton has recently been appointed as a Senior Member at VCAT, sitting in the Building & Property, Civil Claims and OC Lists. Prior to her appointment she was a barrister and nationally accredited mediator, and before that, was company solicitor of the Housing Guarantee Fund. She took great pleasure in contributing to the profession by serving on various committees, lecturing and presenting, and mentoring many young practitioners. Between leaving the Bar and starting at VCAT she spent the break in Scandinavia, achieving a long held dream of dog sledding in the arctic and seeing the Northern Lights.
Farhana Islam, Senior Associate, Maddocks
Farhana primarily advises Commonwealth Government clients, with her practice covering administrative law, regulatory law, statutory interpretation, government law, probity and privacy. Farhana has advised, assisted and provided training to various departments, including the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, the Department of Education and Training, the Department of the Environment and Energy, the Department of Health and the National Disability Insurance Agency, to improve their administrative law decision making. With over 10 years’ experience working as in-house counsel for government, she has a deep understanding of the government sector and has extensive experience in advising senior executives on managing legal risks, implementing new policies and good decision making in a fast changing and complex environment.
Brenda Tronson, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Brenda Tronson is a barrister at Level 22 Chambers, practising in public law and commercial law, with specific areas of practice including disciplinary law, migration law, general administrative law, contract law, equity and discrimination. She was called to the Bar in 2008, reading on Sixth Floor Selborne Wentworth Chambers, before which she completed the BCL and MPhil in Law at Oxford University and worked for Justice Crennan at the High Court of Australia and for Freehills in Sydney. Brenda was named NSW Young Lawyer of the Year in 2010 and was nominated for the NSW Women Lawyers Association "Up and Coming" Woman Lawyer Award in 2011.
Julie Zhou, Barrister, Howells' List Barristers
Julie Zhou joined the Victorian Bar in 2018, practising predominantly in administrative law and employment law. She has acted in unfair dismissal and general protection claims, merits and judicial review cases concerning migration and Commonwealth benefits. Before coming to the Bar, Julie was senior in-house counsel at Monash University where she specialised in public and administrative law, disciplinary proceedings, and discrimination. Julie was also in-house counsel for State and Commonwealth governments in the ACT and in Victoria, predominantly in the areas of merits review, employment law, FOI, privacy and secrecy. Aside from practising in administrative law, Julie also lectured the subject in the Juris Doctor program at RMIT University.
David Bennett AC QC, 5 Wentworth Chambers
David Bennett AC QC practises in the areas of appellate law generally, constitutional law, administrative law, revenue law, trade practices and competition law, among others. David has held various positions during his career, including Solicitor-General for the Commonwealth of Australia, President of the Australian Bar Association and also President of the NSW Bar Association. He has been a part-time member of the Australian Government's Takeovers Panel and is recognised in various publications as a leader in the law