Join with your colleagues for a pivotal conference on liquor and gaming regulation in NSW, under the esteemed chairmanship of Judge Gillian Eldershaw. Legal luminaries and industry and association experts in liquor and gaming, will present critical updates on compliance standards, noise management and advancements in responsible gaming. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with key stakeholders and deepen your knowledge of current regulatory developments.

Presenters

Bruce Bulford, Principal, Bulford Legal
Bruce Bulford is a solicitor/director of Bulford Legal Pty Limited (ABN 97 158 433 393), established in July 2012. From November 2002, Bruce was a solicitor/director of Bruce Stewart Dimarco, having been with that firm since May 2001. While at Bruce Stewart Dimarco, Bruce was the head of the liquor and gaming, as well as its Environment and Planning practices. Prior to that, Bruce was engaged as a senior associate with Abbott Tout. Bruce was employed by Abbott Tout between February 1985 and April 2001. Bruce has many years of experience, in providing advice and assistance to a wide range of commercial and local government clients. Bruce is the author of the Thomson Reuters/Law Book Company loose leaf service "Liquor Licensing Law and Practice in New South Wales". Bruce is widely recognised within the profession as an expert in liquor and gaming laws. Bruce is often called upon to give evidence as an expert witness in this field. He is also retained by other law firms, including national law firms, to consult to those firms and their clients in relation to liquor and gaming related matters. As a natural fit with Bruce's liquor and gaming practice, Bruce also appears before the Land and Environment Court for Class 1 appeals involving licensed premises. In Bruce's view, it is not possible to day to close your mind to what is happening in the planning law jurisdiction, when advising on liquor and gaming matters. For many years these two jurisdictions have been closely linked. Bruce's involvement in the planning law jurisdiction has particularly been for venues within the council area of the City of Sydney. This has led to a considerable depth of experience with the Council's controversial Late Night Trading Management Development Control Plan 2012, and its predecessors, including the Late Night Trading Premises Development Control Plan 2007, to which amendments were overturned by the Minister for Planning., ,


Jane Lin, Executive Director, Liquor & Gaming NSW
Prior to joining Hospitality & Racing as the new Executive Director of Regulatory Operations and Enforcement, Jane Lin worked in enforcement roles within the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) for almost 20 years, investigating and litigating a range of consumer protection and competition matters, both civil and criminal. Jane assisted in establishing the agency’s criminal cartel enforcement program as well as a unit focused on anti-competitive conduct in the commercial construction industry, and for the last five years was responsible for overseeing and expanding the ACCC’s intelligence function. In her most recent role Jane led the ACCC’s Data and Intelligence branch, which incorporates four in-house teams specialising in intelligence gathering, legal technology, forensics and data analytics as well as the agency’s contact centre. Jane has qualifications in law, economics and political economy. On a more personal note, Jane loves to travel, a passion which took her to London in the mid-late 2000s where she spent time working as a Competition Policy Advisor for Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator. Her favourite country outside of Australia is Guatemala, because of the beautiful countryside and friendly, welcoming people, but Italy also holds a special place in her heart due to her family background (and the food!). She speaks Italian and Spanish with varying degrees of fluency depending on the day, and is trying desperately to keep her two children (Oscar, 11 and Gina, 9) interested in learning music and languages on the promise that they will thank her later in life. When she isn’t working or travelling, Jane likes to spend time with her friends and family and particularly loves seeing live music.


Leigh Barrett, Managing Director and Principal Consultant, Leigh Barrett and Associates
LBA provides a broad range of hospitality compliance services for clubs and hotels across most Australian jurisdictions. With a 25-year background in the gambling landscape, Leigh is one of very few who has seen gambling compliance issues from community, research, regulatory and industry perspectives. Leigh has participated on numerous jurisdictional ministerial advisory and industry expert committees on gambling regulation and compliance and is a past-President of the National Association for Gambling Studies. He also gives expert testimony at gaming application hearings and appeals and regulatory breach matters.


John Green, Director, Liquor and Policing, Australian Hotels Association
As the Director of Liquor & Policing with AHA NSW, John’s responsibilities include stakeholder and membership engagement, advocacy, building relationships between police and licensees plus the development of evidence based strategies on liquor, policing and other issues impacting the hotel industry. He represents on local and State government and agency committees/working groups dealing with liquor accords, Sydney nightlife, licensing, armed robberies and nationally, on counter terrorism issues. He is the association’s media spokesperson. John’s previous occupation was with the NSW Police Force, in charge of the NSW Police response to alcohol related crime. His 26 year career included general policing in the eastern/southern suburbs of Sydney, then specialist policing and leadership skills in areas such as Dog Squad, Tactical Response Group, Olympic Security, Local Area Commands, emergency/aviation security, counter terrorism and crisis management.


Tony Schwartz, Principal, BSV Liquor & Gaming Lawyers
Tony Schwartz is a partner of Back Schwartz Vaughan solicitors of Level 1, 156 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra. He conducts a specialist liquor licensing practice where 98% of his time is involved in conducting liquor licensing matters. Tony was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1979 and has held a current New South Wales Practicing Certificate since that time. In 1979 he was also admitted to the roll of practitioners of the High Court of Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Sydney University. Tony is the author of the New South Wales Butterworths publication known as McDonald's Licensing and Gaming Laws of New South Wales. He has been a contributor to that publication since 1989. He was appointed its principal author in 1990 and subsequently appointed the sole author from September 1998 and continues in that capacity today. Over the past 20 years or so Tony has delivered many papers (and spoken at many seminars) for every major NSW legal seminar provider. Additionally, he has also delivered many lectures on liquor licensing to other law firms and at staff management courses for his clients in the liquor industry. Tony is well regarded in the legal profession as a lecturer and an expert witness in proceedings involving liquor licensing practice and procedure. He has conducted all types of major investigations, complaints and prosecutions instigated by the Police or the Director General. He has also been involved in many of the cases in the Supreme Court involving licensing matters as well as appearing in matters before the Land and Environment Court involving hotels and other licensed premises. Tony has extensive experience in the completion of Community Impact Statements placed before the ILGA concerning the new grant of liquor licences and licence related authorisations applying to existing liquor licences, such as extended trading authorisations, primary service authorisations and the like. Additionally he has extensive experience in the completion of Social Impact Assessments placed before Local Councils concerning the use of a site as a licensed venue. Tony has also been involved in many proceedings involving the review process before the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, such as - matters arising from the Director General and the Police seeking the imposition of conditions on licences. He has acted for parties involved in challenges based on administrative law principles, in disturbance complaints and in defending prosecutions under the Act. He is also consulted by the liquor industry governing bodies and clients regarding changes to the Act from time to time.


Kenneth Yardy, Special Legal Counsel, Australian Hotels Association
Kenneth Yardy is the Principal Solicitor of Yardy Legal, which has specialised in the Liquor & Gaming Area for nearly 20 years. Prior to that Kenneth was a NSW Police Detective & then a National Security Manager for a large Media Group. Their firm specialises in providing support to small & medium size hospitality enterprises such as Hotels, Clubs, Restaurants and Large-Scale Events. In between dealing with million dollar hotel transactions, partnerships disputes and Police/LGNSW prosecutions, he would like to see a greater scope for dogs to be allowed in strata as well as licensed premises (at the discretion of the licensee).


Her Honour Judge Gillian Eldershaw, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)
Her Honour Judge Eldershaw is a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in the Sydney Registry. Her Honour was appointed to the Court in April 2022 after many years in practice, of which 14 years were at the NSW Bar specialising in family law and employment-related disciplinary matters, investigations and public inquiries. In 2004, Her Honour graduated from the University of Sydney with First Class Honours in Law and, for the next few years, was a solicitor at Allens Arthur Robinson (as it then was), where she worked as a commercial litigator. Prior to studying law, Her Honour was a Registered Nurse. The expertise she gained in acute psychiatry and paediatrics provides an invaluable set of skills and insight for which has since become practice in family law. In conjunction with her judicial duties, Her Honour is a Member of the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority which recently oversaw the licensing of Crown Casino after the 2021 Bergin Review and other Royal Commissions, and the ongoing Inquiry into the Star Casino. Outside of the law, Her Honour is a keen supporter of the Arts, especially through her involvement with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, of which she is a Patron and Council Member. Her Honour’s early years as a lawyer in commercial litigation, where the cases with which she was involved were in the Supreme and Federal Courts, explains her enduring interest in the craftsmanship of well-drawn affidavits. She hopes that the session at the forthcoming seminar will provide practical and useful insights into the drafting of good and useful affidavits. This is a skill that is remarkably simple, yet rarely executed. The session is intended to be informal and interactive. Participants are invited to treat the session as a safe space in which to ask questions and to ‘workshop’ ideas and approaches. Notes will be provided on the day.