Administrative Law: Preparing Reasons, Delegated Powers and FOI
Attend this comprehensive forum to get practical insights on some of the most topical issues in administrative law. Hear the latest on preparing reasons for administrative decisions. Gain an update on understanding the difference between authorisations and delegation of power and have FOI demystified once and for all. Finally, get that all-important overview of the latest administrative and judicial review cases that are key to your practice. WEB226V04
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: James Smart, Partner, and Sector Leader – State Government Vic, Maddocks
9.00am to 10.00am Preparing Reasons for Administrative Decisions
- When are reasons for decisions required to be given by a decision maker?
- How can reasons be drafted to effectively communicate a decision?
- Understanding where reasons often fail to be understandable and defensible
- How can you reduce the prospects of reasons being challenged in a court or tribunal?
- Procedural fairness during decision making
Presented by Cahal Fairfield, Barrister, William Crockett Chambers
10.00am to 11.00am Delegations and Sub-Delegations: Making Decisions Without Authority
- The use of delegations, sub-delegations
- Ramifications for making decisions without authority: when are you personally liable?
- Pitfalls and how to avoid them
- Recent examples (war stories)
Presented by Mark Robinson SC, Maurice Byers Chambers
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm FOI Demystified: Common Problems for Departments
- What are some of the common problems for Government departments and agencies around FOI?
- Has the COVID-19 pandemic created any new problems?
- How does the cabinet-in-confidence exception relate to the deliberations of ‘National Cabinet’, and will the limitations of any exemptions have ramifications for future government collaborative/policy-making forums in future
Presented by Andrew Field, Managing Principal Solicitor, Administrative Law Team, Victorian Government Solicitor's Office
12.15pm to 1.15pm Recent Administrative and Judicial Review Cases in 2022
Explore recent and important decisions affecting Administrative and Judicial review cases.
Presented by Mathew Kenneally, Greens List Barristers
Presenters
James Smart
James heads up the Victorian State Government sector at Maddocks. He has over 25 years experience providing a broad range of contract, commercial and administrative law advice to government departments and statutory authorities. James has drafted a large number of significant government contracts including IT contracts. He has also advised the Victorian State Government on legal, governance and compliance models in many projects. James has a specific expertise in the commercial and governance issues associated with the establishment of new government entities. James regularly presents papers at industry conferences on topics including contract drafting, legislative compliance and statutory interpretation.
Cahal Fairfield
Cahal Fairfield is a member of both the Victorian Bar and the Tasmanian Independent Bar. He has chambers in Melbourne and Hobart. He undertook his legal studies at the Queen's University in Belfast and completed his bar exams in Northern Ireland. After migrating to Australia in 1992, he completed further legal studies at the University of Melbourne and was for over two years associate to the former Justice Ryan of the Federal Court of Australia. He has over 18 years’ experience as a practising barrister in Australia. He appears both as a trial and as an appellate advocate. He also teaches administrative law and Federal Court practice. Recently he has appeared in ten judicial review cases in the Supreme Court of Nauru. He is a member of the Industrial Law Bar and Criminal Law Bar Associations of the Victorian Bar. He was for three years an elected member of the Victorian Bar Council.
Mark Robinson SC
Mark Robinson is a senior counsel based in Sydney practising in administrative law and general law. He was a founding part-time Judicial Member of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales in the General Division - hearing matters on privacy and freedom of information. He served on that tribunal and its Appeal Panel for seven years. For sixteen years, Mark was an occasional part-time lecturer in undergraduate ‘Administrative Law’ in the Law Faculties of the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. For twenty six years, Mark acted as the lead author and editor of New South Wales Administrative Law, a two volume looseleaf service, published by Thomson Reuters (since 1996) which covers Supreme Court judicial review, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), statutory interpretation, freedom of information and privacy. Mark has authored and edited three legal texts (each published by Thomson Reuters): Judicial Review: The Laws of Australia published in 2014, with an encyclopaedic coverage of judicial review Australia wide; NCAT - Practice and Procedure, 2nd ed, published in 2020; and Administrative Law: The Laws of Australia, published in 2017. It concerns State and Federal tribunals and it also covers the Ombudsmen and freedom of information around Australia.
Andrew Field
Andrew is a lawyer at the VGSO specialising in all matters relating to administrative law including judicial review, VCAT proceedings and occupational regulation. Andrew also provides advice to the Attorney-General in relation to charitable trusts and related matters with an emphasis on Supreme Court proceedings. Prior to joining the VGSO, Andrew was for 7 years a senior prosecutor at the office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in the Commercial Prosecutions branch. In that capacity he conducted complex prosecutions on behalf of a wide range of agencies including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police. He has also prosecuted matters relating to border controlled drugs and other illegal imports, child exploitation, identity fraud, maritime safety and IT offences. Andrew was for 10 years a member of the academic staff at Monash University where he specialised in commercial law, consumer law and international law. He has published over 50 articles on legal topics published both in Australia and overseas. Andrew has appeared as counsel before all Victorian courts in a range of matters including mentions, applications, contested hearings and appeals.
Mathew Kenneally
Mathew Kenneally has a broad practice in administrative, commercial, employment, regulatory and consumer law. Prior to going to the bar, Mathew was an associate to the Honourable Justices Charles and Osborn in the Supreme court. He was also a lawyer at Consumer Action Law Centre, and at Victoria Legal Aid, in the Civil Justice Section, where he primarily practiced in migration law. He holds a Masters of Law from Colombia University, in New York where his studies focused on public law and statutory interpretation.