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In Brief Issue #1110
7Jul
With so many people away, it has been a quiet week. Accordingly, what follows is a truly brief In Brief.
On Tuesday, I spoke at the welcome ceremony for her Honour Judge Robyn Harper in the County Court. Her Honour comes to the bench from the Office of Public Prosecutions, having previously been at the private bar. Her colleagues at the OPP speak very warmly of her as collegiate, friendly, and helpful, including to the other side – a vital element in the work of Crown Prosecutors. She is known to be calm and measured, to be fair, and to treat everyone with respect. On behalf of the Victorian Bar, I wished her Honour all the best in her new role.
Next week there will be two welcomes: one on Wednesday morning for his Honour Justice Peter Gray in the Supreme Court, and one on Thursday morning for her Honour Judge Diana Manova in the County Court. I will say more about each of the new judges in next week’s message.
Siobhán Ryan KC, Chair of the Art & Collections Committee, wanted me to thank members on her behalf for their patience over the past month while the Peter O'Callaghan QC Gallery has been re-painted. You will also note that the collection has been re-hung. The Gallery is looking great. Thanks to Siobhán and her committee for their work on the refresh.
As has been mentioned before, the Open Justice Project is an ongoing collaboration between Monash University and the Victorian Bar where high performing, later year Monash University undergraduate and postgraduate students are matched with barristers to assist them with legal research, basic drafting, preparation of chronologies and summaries of evidence. Of the many who have benefitted from the Project, Tim Farhall said, “The students' work was prompt, high quality, and incredibly useful. It allowed the legal team to get on top of a very large amount of disparate material very quickly, and significantly improved the submissions we were able to make on behalf of the client. Their work perfectly illustrated how students can make real difference in real people's lives (and make barristers' lives much easier as well!)”. If you would like to participate, you can find out more via this link.
On a similar topic, the Student Engagement Committee is looking for barristers interested in mentoring university students in their shadowing program. Launched with Victoria University as a successful pilot program in 2022, the program continues in 2023, this time with La Trobe and Deakin Universities alongside VU. Students typically shadow barristers in court, during client conferences and the like, and often undertake research tasks, further engaging them in the day-to-day experience of barristers. Requiring a 40-hour commitment across a 4-week period, students are mentored by barristers either individually, in partnership with another barrister, or sometimes by a floor of barristers. It’s a very worthwhile project and I recommend you getting involved if you can. You can find an expression of interest form here.
The ABA Conference is scheduled to be held on the Gold Coast in September. The theme for the 2023 conference is “Cornerstone: The Rule of Law”. Multiple members of our Bar will be in attendance and speaking or appearing on panels including the Hon. Justice William Alstergren AO (who will be delivering an opening day keynote address), Commonwealth Attorney-General the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC MP, the Hon. Justice Michelle Gordon AC of the High Court of Australia, Róisín Annesley KC, Matt Collins AM KC, Claire Harris KC, with other speakers and panelists still to be confirmed. More details can be found on the event’s website here.
Sam Hay KC
Supreme Court of Victoria
A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Peter Gray as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne on Wednesday, 12 July 2023 at 9:15am.
County Court of Victoria
A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of her Honour Judge Diana Manova as a judge of the County Court of Victoria will be held in Ceremonial Court 3.3 of the County Court of Victoria, Level 3, 250 William Street, Melbourne on Thursday, 13 July 2023 at 9:15am.
Thank you to those members who have paid their subscriptions by the due date. If you have not paid your Subscriptions for the 2023-2024 Financial Year, we ask members to make payment of your subscription now. Please click here. If you have any questions relating to your subscription, please contact membership or call on 9225 8326.
The Women Barristers’ Association (WBA) will be holding their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 26 July 2023, at 1:00pm, in Bar Council Chamber, Level 1, Owen Dixon East.
The AGM is open for all members to attend, and WBA also encourages new members to attend and join.
Further, the WBA wishes to put out a call for new committee members. Anyone interested in joining the Committee is welcome to send a nomination form to Shannon Finegan by no later than 12:00pm on Wednesday, 19 July 2023.
At the AGM, the Committee for 2023-24 will be elected and other business (including convenors report and accounts for the year) will be considered.
The Bar Council calls for expressions of interest from members who wish to be considered for appointment as a Director of the Victorian Bar Foundation.
The Victorian Bar Foundation was established to progress the interests of justice in Victoria and further legal education and training in our community. The Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which enables the Bar and Bench to contribute to the community and causes outside the Bar itself.
Nominations close at 5:00pm, Monday, 17 July 2023 and should be emailed to sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au.
Consistent with its commitment to transparency and ensuring that all members have a fair opportunity to represent the Bar, the Bar Council is seeking for expressions of interest from those members of the Bar who wish to be considered for nomination to the Magistrates’ Court Appropriate Dispute Resolution Committee.
The ADR Committee is a consultative body that includes members of the judiciary and court administration, the Victorian Bar, the Law Institute of Victoria, and the Dispute Settlement of Victoria. The Committee is responsible for identifying opportunities where dispute resolution may generally facilitate the just, efficient, timely and cost-effective resolution of the real issues in dispute. The Committee also considers the management of the Court’s legal dispute process and raise awareness of the Court’s dispute resolution services, such as the List of External Mediator (LEM). Currently, Mr Nussen Ainsworth is on the Committee.
The Bar’s protocol for nomination and appointment of Vic Bar members to external bodies can be viewed here. You are encouraged to provide a detailed expression of interest, which should identify any relevant areas of experience or expertise. This will assist the Bar Council to select the best candidate for the position.
Please forward your expressions of interest to ED@vicbar.com.au. The closing date for the EOI is 5:00pm, Monday, 10 July 2023.
Expressions of interest are sought from members interested in performing regulatory work for the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (VLSB+C) and the Bar.
The VLSB+C’s regulatory approach statement provides a detailed summary of the functions and regulatory activities of the VLSB+C, some of which are delegated to the Bar.
If you are interested in performing regulatory work, we encourage you to provide a detailed expression of interest, which should identify any relevant areas of experience or expertise.
Please forward your expressions of interest to ED@vicbar.com.au. The closing date for this EOI is COB, 21 July 2023.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety is consulting the Bar on two proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Vic).
The details and background to the proposals are outlined in the Department’s consultation paper.
In summary, the proposed amendments seek to:
- Rectify a drafting oversight regarding the Register of Disciplinary Action (RODA) by:
- inserting a time limit of 28 days for submitting a review or appeal for a determination made under section 299 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law;
- aligning publication procedures on the RODA with other Uniform Law jurisdictions; and
- Clarify that sections 148 and 353 of the Uniform Law are indictable offences.
The Bar requests member feedback (if any) on these proposed amendments as they affect the profession broadly.
Please provide any feedback on the proposals outlined in the consultation paper by no later than noon, Wednesday, 12 July 2023 to policy@vicbar.com.au.
- If you’re traveling overseas make sure you can access your BCL technology services such as your @vicbar.com.au email and Microsoft 365 from abroad. Click here to set up international access.
- Manage and pay for all your BCL software subscriptions in one place including newly available Dropbox Enterprise. Click here to see our recent communication.
- Why Take Chambers with BCL? As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Victorian Bar, BCL provides a flexible and unique solution of chamber and technology support only available to members of the Bar. Click here to view our current vacancies.
The following are highlights of upcoming CPD and events for Victorian Bar members. You must be a member of the Victorian Bar and logged into the VicBar website to view these events.
- Developments in Expert Evidence: Implications for Criminal Lawyers is on 17 July 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This session explores recent developments in expert evidence, including lessons for criminal lawyers about becoming involved in briefing experts, and emerging topics such as gait analysis, footwear evidence, and the prejudice arising from particularly technical areas of scientific evidence. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via live stream. Click here to RSVP
- Commercial Bar Core Skills – Discovery, Subpoenas and Security for Costs is on 18 July 2023 from 5:00pm-6:00pm. Discovery, subpoenas and security for costs are bread and butter issues for the junior Commercial Bar. This seminar will equip the attendees to deal with those issues at short notice. It will cover the basics of each topic, with references to current Victorian case law, and use selected case studies to illustrate the issues in practice. The materials will include a helpful 2-page “ready reference” guide on each topic. This is an in-person event for barristers only and will also be available online via live stream. Click here to RSVP.
- Children's Court Bar Association CPD Day is on 19 July 2023 from 9:00am-16:15pm. In this seminar you will hear from experienced speakers from across the jurisdiction on a range of topics including: Procedure and evidence in contested hearings; Supporting Aboriginal families through child protection proceedings; and Making a career in the Children's Court. There will also be an interactive ethics seminar to keep you on your toes! The cost for this event is $50. This is an in-person event only. Click here to RSVP.
- Common Law Pro Bono Work in the County Court- An Opportunity to Assist is on 20 July 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. In this seminar the speakers will address the opportunities available to Common Law Bar members to accept pro bono referrals from the County Court to appear on behalf of self-represented litigants. This is an in-person event for barristers only. Click here to RSVP.
- BBlood in the Full Court: Section 100A is on 24 July 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This CPD is on the recent Full Federal Court decision in B&F Investments Pty Ltd as trustee for the Illuka Park Trust v Commissioner of Taxation [2023] FCAFC 89: the appeal from BBlood Enterprises Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2022] FCA 1112, and the latest judicial consideration of section 100A. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via live stream. Click here to RSVP.
- Audio and Visual Recordings in Family Law Matters is on 27 July 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This CPD considers the legality of audio or visual recordings and the use that can be made of these recordings in family law proceedings, with reference to Telecommunications (Interception & Access) Act 1979 (Cth), Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) and Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic), as well as recent decisions. This seminar will also cover useful practicalities that practitioners should be aware of when faced with this complex area of law. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via live stream. Click here to RSVP.
For more upcoming CPD events, please visit our listings here.
Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is offering Bar members an exclusive discount on accommodation, as well as on food and beverages.
This exclusive accommodation discount of 15%, also includes 15% discount on food and beverages, and is available by clicking the link here.
Enter the code VICBAR to get a 15% off when dining in.
T&C's apply. Discounts are not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Percentage off is valid for a maximum discount of $150 per bill. Blackout dates apply.
Offer is valid until 31 August 2023.
This is the second performed reading of this ongoing project for 2023 performed in the Law Library after the company performed the famous comedy Twelfth Night in February. The company’s last reading for 2023 will be in October.
This free reading on the evenings of Wednesday, 12 July and Thursday, 13 July 2023 from 6:00pm will be of Shakespeare’s The Winter's Tale.
This play, one of Shakespeare's later plays and considered one of his romances, is set in the Kingdom of Sicilia and focuses on the harm that jealousy can cause after the King of Sicilia, Leontes, becomes convinced his wife is having an affair with his oldest friend, Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. It seems apt that BottledSnail would perform this play given one of the scenes is set in a Court of Justice.
The Reading will be read by a number of experienced actors from BottledSnail Productions and the Melbourne legal community. The rehearsed reading series is run by the Artistic Director of BottledSnail Productions, Nicky Neville-Jones and this Reading of The Winter's Tale will be directed by a member of the project’s troupe, Max Paterson.
Click here for more information and for tickets.
Dear Essoign Club Members,
The Essoign Board would like to welcome Chris Kaias as the Club’s new Honorary Secretary.
We are open daily from 7:30am – till late
Breakfast - for dine-in or takeaway.
Lunch – Daily Café Menu take away or delivery.
Lunch Dine-In - A La Carte from midday.
Bar – EVERY EVENING - $5 Beer & Wine from 4.30pm – 5.30pm with light snacks available.
Catering & Events - For all occasions including:
Breakfasts
Cocktail Parties
Dinners
Platters for:
Lunches
Morning & Afternoon tea
Or something special you may have in mind
See Catering and Events Pack attached
Email us at essoign@vicbar.com.au
Victorian Bar members are encouraged to use the Member Benefits online portal, where you can access a wide variety of discounts, special offers, and member-only deals as part of your Bar membership.
The exclusive benefits are available Australia-wide and are not generally open to the public.
To activate your account and access the benefits, please click here. You must log in using your vicbar.com.au login details.
Click here to access the monthly Best Buys!
The Confiscation and Proceeds of Crime List Practice Note has been updated. It replaces the previous version which commenced on 1 December 2018.
From October 2023, a new online case management system will be introduced for child protection proceedings in the Children’s Court of Victoria. This will change the way you interact with the court.
CMS Portal will provide legal professionals with a central secure online location to access case information, including case documents and reports, court orders and hearing dates.
We will provide information on registering for a CMS Portal account and provide dates for our demonstration sessions in the coming weeks. The sessions will include basic portal navigation, initiation and how to submit proposed minutes of consent orders electronically.
Application fees are payable in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in respect of certain types of applications in accordance with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Regulation 2015 (AAT Regulation) and the Migration Regulations 1994. The amounts of these fees increased on 1 July 2023.
General, Freedom of Information, Security, Small Business Taxation, and Taxation & Commercial and Divisions
From 1 July 2023, the standard application fee is $1,082. The application fee payable for small business taxation decisions is $581. The lower application fee payable for lodging an application in respect of the taxation decisions described in subregulation 20(2) of the AAT Regulation is $107.
There is no change to the $100 fee that is payable if a person is eligible to pay a concessional fee rather than a standard application fee.
Migration and Refugee Division
For applications lodged from 1 July 2023, the fee that may be payable after the review of a protection visa decision has increased to $2,076.
The fee for lodging an application for review of other decisions in the Migration and Refugee Division, where a fee is payable, has increased to $3,374. In cases where a 50% fee reduction is granted, the reduced fee will be $1,687.
If you have any questions about the change to the fees, please contact our Legal and Policy Section on (03) 9454 6145 or by email to legalandpolicy@aat.gov.au.
The Sentencing Advisory Council has today released its final report into adjourned undertakings (often known as good behaviour orders, or bonds), with 26 recommendations for reform.
The report arises from the Council's recent law reform project on adjourned undertakings and related orders. Over the last 18 months, the Council has met with stakeholders, published a consultation paper (including extensive and novel data analysis), received written submissions, developed draft options for reform, and tested those options with stakeholders.
Some of the key recommendations in the report include:
- renaming adjourned undertakings as 'good behaviour orders',
- limiting payment conditions of adjourned undertakings to payments to the Court Fund,
- revising the adjourned undertaking form, and
- decriminalising breaches of adjourned undertakings.
Quotes attributable to Council Chair Professor Marilyn McMahon:
"Adjourned undertakings serve a critical role in our justice system ... As the second most common sentence imposed in Victorian courts, adjourned undertakings are already working very well. They let people move on with their lives, and at the same time they make the community safer and save taxpayers’ money. Our 26 recommendations are simply designed to make this sentencing order work even better than it already is."
To download the final report, and review all the recommendations, click here.
Have you heard about the Richard Griffith Library but have never visited? Held in person at the Richard Griffith Library, this short 15-minute tour with a Law Library Victoria Reference Librarian, will demonstrate how to access the library, point out collections and provide an overview of online subscriptions.
Location: Richard Griffith Library, Level 1, Owen Dixon East
Thursday, 20 July 2023, 1:15pm to 1:30pm Tour of the Richard Griffith Library
Thursday, 24 August 2023, 1:15pm to 1:30pm Tour of the Richard Griffith Library
Thursday, 21 September 2023, 1:15pm to 1:30pm Tour of the Richard Griffith Library
Thursday, 26 October 2023, 1:15pm to 1:30pm Tour of the Richard Griffith Library
Thursday, 23 November 2023, 1:15pm to 1:30pm Tour of the Richard Griffith Library
Join the LIV at the RACV City Club in Melbourne to obtain an update on the ACCC’s approach to compliance and enforcement under the leadership of Gina Cass-Gottlieb on Tuesday 11 July from 7:30am to 9:00am.
Hear Gina speak on how the role of the ACCC has changed in today’s economic climate and in light of recent international pressures, as well as how the ACCC intends to address some key environmental issues which impact competition and consumer law. Table booking available.
Register at the LIV website.
The Sir Zelman Cowen Centre warmly invites you to attend our Lawyers as Changemakers series.
Happening over May, June and July 2023, Lawyers as Changemakers is a three-part series focusing on Australian lawyers’ contributions and influence in shaping society for good, and the inspiration these stories provide to improve our communities now and into the future.
The final address of the series will be delivered by the Honourable Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Australia's Attorney-General, on the life and legacy of Sir Zelman Cowen. The event will be held in person at the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre (295 Queen Street Melbourne VIC 3000) on Thursday 27 July 2023, from 5.30-7.30pm (registrations start from 5:15pm).
Register here via Eventbrite.
Democratic Regression and the Rule of Law in Indonesia
2023 Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Public Lecture
Date & time: Thursday, 27 July, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, G08 Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton & Online
Presenters: Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie
Indonesia is a rising power in Asia and a crucial partner for Australia. It underwent sweeping democratisation after the collapse of Soeharto’s New Order regime in 1998 and was held up as a model for other Muslim societies. However, many see the last decade as a time of regression, with Indonesia’s ranking sliding in global democracy indexes, key institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court facing major challenges, and little progress on human rights. In this lecture, Miegunyah Fellow Professor Jimly Asshiddiqie, founding Chief Justice of Indonesia’s first Constitutional Court and a leading figure in legal and political change in Indonesia over the last two decades, will offer an assessment of the challenges to democratisation and the rule of law in Indonesia in the ‘post-truth’ era, and what could be done to reform the political system.
For those unable to attend in person, a livestream option will be available when you register.
Further information and registration
2023 Flos Greig Public Lecture
Women Making a Difference in the Law: Bridging a Gap Between Law and Life
Date & time: Wednesday, 2 August, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Location: Old Quadrangle, Building (150) - North Entrance, Melbourne University
Presenters: The Hon. Marilyn Warren AC KC
The Hon. Marilyn Warren AC KC will analyse how women have made a difference in the law, giving an overview of the paths of women as practitioners, academics, reformers, and jurists since 1903, the year Flos Greig graduated as the first woman in law in Victoria. The presentation will also look to what the future holds for women lawyers. Flos Greig was a pioneer whose determination to practise as a solicitor advanced gender equality in the legal profession in Australia in the early twentieth century. Upon graduating from Melbourne Law School in 1903, Flos Greig undertook her articles with Frank Cornwall, later continuing her career with Cornwalls law firm. We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear The Hon. Marilyn Warren AC KC speak. Light refreshments will be served from 5:30pm in the Foyer, with the lecture starting at 6:00pm in the Library (Level 1).
Melbourne Law School is delighted to have Cornwalls’ involvement in this annual lecture series, recognising Flos Greig’s pioneering spirit which transformed the bases of admission to the Australian legal profession.
Further information and registration
Living on in the Law: Naming Laws after Homicide Victims
The Peter Brett Memorial Lecture 2023
Date & time: Thursday, 17 August, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, G08 Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
Presenter: Professor Arlie Loughnan
In recent decades, in Australia, a number of laws have been named after victims of crime. This practice, which Professor Arlie Loughnan calls eponymous law, now encompasses the creation of numerous new laws or legal amendments. In this lecture, Professor Arlie Loughnan points to this practice as a fascinating aspect of the making of criminal law. She will focus on two dimensions of the practice of naming laws after homicide victims. First, this practice is a way in which the families of the crime victims give meaning to their loss through crime. An examination of publicly reported statements by victims’ families reveals a wide range of motives, from honouring the victim to helping to ensure other families do not go through the same trauma. Professor Loughnan asks if this practice reflects the rise of popular punitivism in the current era. Second, eponymous law represents a distinct aspect of the changing relationship between criminal law and victims of crime. This becomes apparent through the contextualisation of this practice as emerging against a background set by the rise of the victims’ rights movement in Australia from the 1970s, the massive growth of criminal legislation since this time, and an apparent increase in the political popularity of victim-oriented law reform. What does this mean for the place of criminal law in contemporary Australian society?
Please join friends and colleagues of Melbourne Law School after the lecture for post-reception drinks and light refreshments from 7:00pm.
The Attorney-General wishes to appoint a member to the Appeal Costs Board.
The Appeal Costs Board (Board) is responsible for the administration of the Appeal Costs Act 1998 (Act). The Board serves a function like that of a compensation tribunal: in certain circumstances it may partially compensate litigating parties who suffer loss through incurring legal costs arising from judicial error or other special circumstances for which the litigating party is not responsible.
The main functions of the Board are assessing and determining applications for payment made under the Act and discharging other functions conferred by the Act.
Board members are responsible for assessing applications from legal practices and individuals who may be entitled to payments pursuant to the Act. The role requires attending monthly meetings and assessing Section 17 applications several times per month. A minimum availability of approximately fifteen to twenty-five hours per month is required. It is preferred that applicants should be experienced in costs law and be admitted to practise law in Victoria with a minimum of five years’ experience.
Applications close Friday 7 July 2023.
Click here for more information and to apply.
Monash Law is one of the largest and most dynamic law schools in Australia. We seek Expressions of Interest in working with our team of experienced educators and leading academics.
As a casual (sessional) academic staff member you are an important part of the faculty’s teaching program. You will assist the Law Faculty to maintain a high quality in teaching and learning and to satisfy students’ learning requirements for units and courses, and increase flexibility in subject offerings.
You are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest application if you have obtained an Australian law degree with excellent results, have relevant experience and you have the capability to work within our teaching teams. Casual work may be available in seminar teaching, tutoring and marking, in private and public law units and clinical offerings at Clayton and in the City Chambers. We have particular need for tutors in Torts, Constitutional Law, Evidence, Civil Procedure and Administrative Law, for classes during business hours.
Please contact us via our Expression of Interest portal.
If you would like to contribute relevant news, events, and updates for barristers and the legal profession to In Brief, please send an email with your content to inbrief@vicbar.com.au or complete this submission form.
Deadline for the next issue:5pm, 13th July 2023