Presenters

Kylie Evans, Barrister, List G Barristers
Kylie Evans appears in all courts and tribunals in public, administrative and human rights matters. Kylie has significant public, administrative and human rights law expertise and provides advice in these areas to non-government and government clients. She is co-author of the Annotated Victorian Charter of Rights (LawBook Co, 2019, Second edition) and has taught on this subject in the Masters program at Melbourne Law School. Kylie is currently listed in Doyle's Guide to Leading Administrative & Public Law Barristers - Australia, 2021 and in Best Lawyers Australia for Public Law. She holds first class honours degrees in Law from the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge (Masters of Law) and a first class Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne. She was Associate to the Honourable Justice David Hunt AO QC at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1999 and a Research Fellow for the Honourable Professor James Crawford AC SC FBA (now a Justice of the International Court of Justice) from 2002-2005.


Dr Kristine Hanscombe KC, Senior Counsel,
Dr Hanscombe has been in full time practice at the Victorian Bar since 1989 and took silk in 2003. She came late to the law: prior to attending law school she was first engaged in research in Pure Mathematics, in which subject she holds a PhD, and then as the proprietor of a bookselling business for some eight years. She has a broad commercial, equity and public law practice. She has a longstanding interest in the law of evidence, and has both written and taught in the area, especially in scientific and engineering matters. In recent years her commercial law practice has been almost entirely in class actions. Most of her work in areas of public law has concerned judicial review in both the Federal and State systems, but she is also experienced in merits review, especially legal disciplinary and regulatory matters. She has appeared for diverse government and non-government participants in Royal Commissions, inquests, and similar investigations.


Gemma Varley PSM
Gemma Varley was appointed as Chief Parliamentary Counsel in 2008. She first joined the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel as a drafter in 1978 and has been drafting ever since. Gemma is a graduate of Monash University holding Bachelors degrees in Arts and law and a Masters of Law degree from that University. Gemma was admitted to practice in 1977 and signed the Bar Roll as parliamentary counsel in 1981.


Georgina Rhodes, Barrister, Castan Chambers
Georgina has a general public law practice and accepts briefs in matters involving administrative law, disciplinary and professional standards, regulatory action, crimes mental impairment, occupational health and safety, coronial and criminal matters. She appears and advises in matters including merits review, judicial review, urgent applications, commissions and inquiries, occupational health & safety matters, integrity and criminal matters. Georgina also provides advice to Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in relation to statutory interpretation, legislative reform, information sharing and integrity matters. Before coming to the Bar, Georgina had a diverse and extensive legal career in government. Most recently she worked at WorkSafe Victoria, as the strategic priorities lawyer within the Administrative Review, Advice and Coronial Services team, where she advised on occupational health and safety matters, appeared at merits review applications in VCAT and provided specialist advice in relation to crystalline silica and silicosis. Georgina was a Senior Solicitor at the Department of Justice and Regulation within the Working with Children Check Unit, advising on matters of regulatory compliance, statutory interpretation, FOI, information sharing and privacy. She appeared for the Secretary at directions hearings and stay hearings before VCAT and instructed on appeals before the Supreme Court. Georgina instructed in the matter of PQR v Secretary, Department of Justice and Regulation (No. 1) [2017] VSC 517 a leading case in relation to pseudonym orders. Georgina was a Principal Solicitor at the Department of Health and Human Services at the Child Protection Litigation Office, appearing regularly in the Children’s Court on urgent applications, mentions, directions hearings, conciliation conferences, intervention order applications and merit review applications. She was also part of the Complex Advocacy Team dealing with the most complex and serious child protection matters throughout the State, including urgent appeals and parens patriae applications in the Supreme Court. Georgina also worked at the Tasmanian Legal Aid Commission and Victoria Legal Aid where she was part of the specialist Youth Crime Team. She appeared regularly at bail hearings, plea hearings, contest mentions, contested hearings and committal hearings in relation to a broad range of state and commonwealth offences. She also instructed Counsel in complex County Court trials and appeals.


Jason Pizer SC, List A Barristers
Jason has been a member of the Victorian Bar for more than 20 years, and has been a silk since 2013. He practises primarily in administrative law, and is often called upon to advise on complex questions of statutory interpretation. Jason was the author of the first four editions of Pizer's Annotated VCAT Act, and the co-author of the fifth edition of that book.


James Stoller, Barrister, Foley’s List
James practises in public, commercial and common law. Before coming to the Bar, James spent almost ten years as a solicitor. Most recently, he was a Principal Solicitor at the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, specialising in administrative and regulatory law. At the VGSO, he acted for government departments, regulators and other statutory agencies in judicial review, merits review and professional disciplinary proceedings. He also advised government entities on statutory interpretation and statutory decision making. Before joining the VGSO, James was a Senior Solicitor in the Civil Law section at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in Darwin. In that role, he specialised in administrative and common law litigation, with a focus on intentional torts. Prior to that, James spent almost three years in commercial litigation at Logie-Smith Lanyon Lawyers, working on a broad range of commercial disputes. James also worked as a Senior Solicitor in the Proceeds of Crime directorate of the Office of Public Prosecutions, acting for the DPP in proceedings under the Confiscation Act 1997. James read with Christopher Archibald KC.