Message from the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, the Hon Chief Justice Mortimer
2025 ABA Advanced Trial Advocacy Intensive - Registrations Now Open
ABA Taxation Committee CPD: Recent Decisions and the Onus of Proof in Tax Disputes
The International Law Section South Pacific essay competition is now open
The Law Society of Singapore Trial Advocacy Course 2024
Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure again to write to you in relation to those matters that the Australian Bar Association is involved in on your behalf.
Anti-Money Laundering Proposed Legislation
Whereas previously it had been thought that the Bar would be untouched by the reforms around anti-money laundering legislation, it has become apparent in the last few weeks that this is no longer the case with the publishing of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024.
If enacted in this current form, the Act would regulate areas of practice that at least sections of the Bar routinely advise on and appear in relation to, and many more occasionally are engaged in. Were that to be the case, it would be necessary for individual barristers to make a decision as to whether to continue to be willing to take briefs in such matters, and if so to meet the, for sole practitioners, quite onerous responsibilities and requirements of the proposed legislation.
At the moment I am making representations at the departmental level to endeavour to demonstrate that in its current form in relation to barristers the proposed legislation would offer no meaningful protection against money laundering, but would substantially reduce the pool of barristers willing to perform work in particular but significant areas of legal advice and appearance work.
I will report back to you when I have more details in this regard.
Law Reporting Council for Australia
The ABA continues to work towards the creation of this body, and to engage with the mainstream legal publishers in this regard.
The incorporation of the entity is in its latter stages, after which the work upon taking steps to enhance access to reports of matters in the Federal jurisdiction, including as to costs, can be pursued.
Best Practice Guidelines
A number of Best Practice Guidelines are shortly to be published.
Cybersecurity
The Cybersecurity Committee continues to work on this important issue for the Bar, and I am looking forward to reporting further on this to you in due course.
Proposed taxation changes to adversely affect the pension entitlements of current, former and future Commonwealth and Territory judicial officers
The ABA continues to advocate for the Commonwealth and Territory judges in this regard. The progress of the legislation does not appear to have been as rapid as had been initially expected, and there remains hope that this unsatisfactory feature of the bill may not get enacted.
Joint conference with the New Zealand Bar Association in Queenstown
I am pleased to report that the joint ABA/NZBA conference in Queenstown was a complete success. The New Zealanders are looking forward to a joint conference in Australia in a couple of years’ time.
I would particularly like to thank the Chair of Conferences, Sam Hay KC, the CEO of the ABA, Professor Greg Tolhurst, the CFO of the ABA, Ms Kelsey Rissman, and the EA to the ABA, Ms Liz Barr, for all of their assistance in making the conference run so smoothly. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Australian practitioners, including the serving and retired judges, who made such a significant contribution to the quality of the program.
The year continues to be productive for the Federal Court. The Full Court period concluded on 30 August 2024, with many judges travelling across the Court’s different registries. Preparations are now underway for the final Full Court sitting period in November 2024, before the Court transitions to three Full Court sitting periods in 2025.
First, I want to warmly welcome two new appointments to the Federal Court of Australia: Justice Jane Needham, who is based in Sydney and Justice Stephen McDonald, who is based in Adelaide. They were sworn in on 5 and 8 July 2024 respectively, and both had their public welcomes on 12 July and 26 August 2024 respectively.
On behalf of the Judges, Registrars and staff of the Federal Court, I congratulate Justices Needham and McDonald on their appointments, and I am confident that they will serve the Australian community with distinction.
Following Royal Assent of the Attorney-General’s Portfolio Miscellaneous Measures Act 2024 on 12 June 2024, the Court’s criminal jurisdiction was expanded to enable it to hear and determine a range of summary and indictable offences relating to conduct under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth), the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth). The Court now has wide-ranging jurisdiction for federal ‘white-collar’ criminal offences and is equipped for future jury trials with purpose-built jury courtrooms, including a new courtroom in the New South Wales registry.
On 12 August 2024, the Court published two updated General Practice Notes that concern foreign judgments (GPN-FRGN) and overseas service and evidence (GPN-OSE). A Notice to the Profession was issued on 13 August 2024 advising of the updates and is available to view on the Federal Court’s website here. In short, the updated foreign judgments practice note:
The updates to the overseas service and evidence practice note bring it in line with certain changes made to the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth), introduced by the Federal Court Legislation Amendment Rules 2022 (Cth) and minor amendments pursuant to the Federal Court Legislation Amendment Rules 2024 (Cth).
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2024, the Federal Court was pleased to welcome a large delegation from the Supreme Court of the Philippines in August 2024. The Philippines delegation, comprising Chief Justice A. G. Gesmundo, Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh, Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario, Philippines regional court coordinators, IT staff and representatives from DFAT and the FAIR Justice Program were hosted in the Melbourne Registry for one week. Together with Federal Court Judges, Registrars and relevant Federal Court staff, the delegation engaged in a variety of knowledge sharing sessions, including on the Federal Court’s innovative Digital Court Program, general Court practice and procedure and an overview of Registry and Corporate Services.
The visit from the Philippines delegation came after a delegation from the High Court of the Solomon Islands, led by Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer on 18 and 19 July 2024. As part of the Court’s involvement in the Pacific Judicial Integrity Program, the Solomon Islands visited the Melbourne Registry to learn about the Court’s implementation of online filing and file management systems and how the introduction of these practices has increased both the capacity and efficiency of the Court.
I also recently had the pleasure of opening the 2024 Minds Count Annual Lecture in Sydney, a forum for the legal community to come together and discuss issues collectively faced by the profession regarding mental health and psychological health and safety. Justice Jaqueline Gleeson delivered the keynote address at the Lecture entitled “When Minds are Traitors”. The audience very much enjoyed her Honour’s lecture, and there was a thought-provoking panel session afterwards with three Victorian Judges, facilitated by the Director of the Minds Count Foundation, David Field: the Honourable Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou (Supreme Court of Victoria), his Honour Judge Frank Gucciardo (County Court of Victoria) and his Honour Magistrate Andrew Sim (Magistrates' Court of Victoria).
The Court’s Judges continue to be engaged with the profession through various seminars and lectures. Justice Perry delivered the keynote address at the Sparke Helmore Commonwealth Executive Forum in Canberra where her Honour addressed the impacts of artificial intelligence on law, government and the administration of justice. Additionally, Justice Lee attended the 2024 Women in Media Australia National Media Conference and spoke about society and the rule of law and its intersection with the media. Justices Charlesworth, Katzmann and Horan also travelled to Canberra to host a sold-out event for practitioners on the essentials of the Federal Court’s practice, including key aspects of how matters are run and identifying when the Federal Court might be the best forum for a particular matter. The last event, in particular, is the kind of interaction between the Court and the profession which I hope to encourage and facilitate on a regular basis around the country, including and perhaps especially in Registries where there is currently no resident Judge.
The Federal Court also hosted a Ceremonial sitting of the Full Court to receive the announcements of appointments of Senior Counsel in and for the State of Victoria in August 2024. The Court congratulates the Senior Counsel on this significant milestone in their careers and looks forward to celebrating appointments to Senior Counsel in other States in due course.
Finally, the Court’s Annual Report will soon be published. I hope all members of the profession enjoy its new look, and find the information in it accessible and interesting.
Registrations have opened for the 2025 Advanced Trial Advocacy Intensive, to be held in Brisbane between 20 and 24 January.
This course provides realistic briefs in both criminal and civil, allowing you to gain valuable experience with senior coaches to develop your advocacy skills in real court settings.
Groups are small and the coach-to-participant ratio is high. This one-week residential Trial Advocacy Intensive enables you to work closely with judges and experienced counsel which will include Federal and Supreme Court Judges, senior Australian counsel and International counsel as well as performance and voice coaches with expertise in voice, movement and impact.
The Intensive involves discussion and comment on each aspect of trial performance. This course will advance your skills as an experienced barrister and will focus on developing your strengths in addressing, examining-in-chief and cross examining.
Registrations close Friday, 29 November 2024.
For more information and to register click here.
For all enquires please contact the ATC Secretariat at cpd@qldbar.asn.au or phone (07) 3238 5100.
The Australian Bar Association Taxation Committee invites you to a panel discussing the onus and standard of proof in tax disputes and related issues in light of recent Full Court and first instance decisions.
Kristen Deards SC will chair a panel including the Hon Jennifer Davies KC, Gareth Redenbach and Ermelinda Kovacs discussing issues relating to the onus and standard of proof and strategies related to reducing cost, complexity and risk in cases when acting for both taxpayers and the Commissioner.
Click here to register to attend via Zoom. Click here to register to attend in person.
CHAIR: Kristen Deards SC (Banco Chambers and Chair of the Australian Bar Association Taxation Committee)
SPEAKERS: The Hon Jennifer Davies KC (Level 31 Aickin Chambers), Gareth Redenbach (Level 28 Aickin Chambers), Michael Cosgrove (New Chambers)
CPD POINT: This seminar may be eligible for 1 CPD point under State CPD programs. It is the responsibility of the individual member to determine whether CPD points can be earned for an attendance of an event hosted by the ABA, as the mandatory continuing professional development requirements vary between each state and territory. Please refer to your relevant state or territory law society in advance of the event for further information.
The 12th annual Australian Arbitration Week (AAW) will take place in Brisbane on 13-18 October 2024.
Attendees will enjoy what they have come to expect of AAW, a week of high quality, dynamic and diverse panel discussions complemented by social events to connect and reconnect with friends and colleagues offering the genuine and warm hospitality Australia is known for.
The well-established lead event of AAW, the ACICA & CIArb International Arbitration Conference, is entitled Powering the Future and Going for Gold: Is Arbitration Ready? The theme looks to the future of arbitration, the opportunities and challenges major sectors, such as energy and construction face, how sports arbitration can propel us forward, and how the fundamental elements of arbitration can be developed to power us into the future.
AAW aims to bring together communities and address issues pertinent to the Australia and the wider region with a global lens. AAW travels to a different state each year, and is returning to Brisbane for the first time since 2019.
Click here for more information.
The International Law Section of the Law Council of Australia provides a focal point for lawyers to engage in interesting issues relating to international law. The ILS provides opportunities for its members to network, engage and contribute to discussions on contemporary international law issues. In 2024, the ILS seeks to continue the momentum of its South Pacific Essay Competition. We invite you to submit your essays relating to the topic below by 31 October 2024.
Essays are to explore "An International Issue of Significance which has Legal Ramifications for the Pacific"
Candidates have the option of submitting an original work not exceeding 3,000 words or a previously published work of up to 5,000 words (please note whether your piece is previously published).
Candidates will be asked to authorise their essay for publication by the International Law Section, which may publish the winning essay on the Law Council website.
The winner will receive a prize value of $500.00 (AUD).
Click here for more information, including eligibility guidelines.
The Advocacy Committee of The Law Society of Singapore is proud to present ‘The Law Society Trial Advocacy Course 2024’ - the first programme of its kind under the new Rules of Court 2021.
This course is specifically designed for litigation lawyers with a minimum of 3 years’ experience in handling litigation matters, and who are interested in further enhancing their advocacy and trial skills. It provides a unique opportunity for litigation lawyers to receive personalised coaching from Silks, Senior Counsels, and senior litigation practitioners, as well as from the local and international faculty.
The course is an intensive 2.5-day programme which will require participants to prepare and perform as advocates in court, handling case analysis, interlocutory applications, opening and closing speeches, as well as examination and cross-examination of witnesses. The highlight of the course will culminate in a mock trial where participants, working in pairs, will conduct examination and cross-examination of witnesses and deliver oral submissions. At the end of the mock trial, the presiding Judge will provide an extempore judgment along with comments and feedback on the participants’ performance.
The teaching methodology used is the NITA methodology which is widely accepted in numerous jurisdictions as an effective as well as preferred method for teaching advocacy. Participants will, over the course of 2.5 days, perform as advocates, with each performance critiqued by local and international members of the faculty to provide individualised feedback to each participant on how their performance could be improved or enhanced. Each performance will also be recorded on video and reviewed individually with each participant with a view to improving matters of style and delivery.
In the run-up to the 2.5-day programme, participants will attend a series of 4 online seminars that will cover various aspects of advocacy, including the elements of persuasive advocacy, the ethics of advocacy, advocacy in interlocutory applications, opening and closing statements at trial, and examination and cross-examination of witnesses.
For optimal interaction, this course is limited to 24 participants.
Click here for more information and registration.
Join the Commonwealth Lawyers Association at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre in St Julian's Bay Malta, for this prestigious biennial event in the legal calendar.
Under the over-arching theme of "Commonwealth Lawyers - fit for the future!", the program of 5 daily streams reflects the latest challenges, issues and trends faced by those in the Commonwealth legal fraternity.
Build global and regional professional networks, share best practice and innovations and develop the warm friendships that are at the heart of this congress of practicing lawyers, justice leaders, academics and members of the judiciary.
Click here for more information.
The Northern Territory Bar Association celebrated 50 years of the Independent Bar of the Northern Territory with a gala dinner on 9 August 2024. The dinner coincided with the High Court of Australia sitting in Darwin for the first time in almost six years.
The ACT Bar marked its 60th anniversary at its Bench and Bar Dinner on Friday 6 September. The commemorative booklet is available online.
Also on Friday 6 September was the QLD Bar’s Bench and Bar Dinner, by all accounts a glittering night.
