As a school counsellor you must be fully able to navigate your legal liabilities to ensure you always respond appropriately to student welfare concerns, family law disputes and privacy obligations—protecting both students and yourselves from legal risk. The School Counsellors’ Legal Risk Forum A is a must-attend for school counsellors, wellbeing staff and education leaders committed to safeguarding students while meeting legal responsibilities. Join legal and education experts to be guided through the complex legal landscape surrounding student welfare. From responding to child abuse disclosures and managing privacy obligations to navigating family law disputes and external placements, gain practical insights to act confidently and remain compliant.

Presenters

Rebecca Dahl, Partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers
Bec is a seasoned family law expert and Partner at Nicholes Family Lawyers. Bec assists clients to achieve outcomes that work (practically, emotionally, financially) - across the full breadth of family law services. Bec is dedicated to: Helping the LGBTQI+ community navigate donor agreements, parenting disputes, property agreements and disputes, donor / surrogacy arrangements; Helping women before and after separation/divorce so they can live the best life they can – and to move onwards and upwards with confidence!; Helping grandparents build and maintain valuable and life changing connections with their grandchildren – wherever they are; Achieving outcomes that contain costs and risk, reduce anxiety and long-term damage; Representing clients on issues across the lifespan of a relationship: from binding financial agreements (BFAs) (or ‘’pre nups’’) to marriage to separation/divorce and spousal maintenance to child support. Bec approaches all her matters with a human, caring approach and with an understanding that reflects the complexity and anxiety that is often associated with family law issues. Clients rely on Bec for her compassionate yet robust approach in looking after their needs. She is trained as a Collaborative Practitioner and works hard to avoid costly and upsetting litigation unless it is needed.

Rebecca Haynes, Senior Lawyer and Casual Legal Academic, Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
Rebecca Haynes is a Senior Lawyer and Casual Legal Academic practicing in the areas of Education Law, Human Rights, Disability, Administrative Law and Child Protection.

Erin McCarthy, Partner, Piper Alderman
Erin McCarthy is a specialist employment partner based in Adelaide. She has over 20 years' experience in providing advice to employers and employer associations on all aspects of occupational health and safety, employment and industrial relations law as well as delivering essential information seminars and training workshops on key employment issues. Erin has experience providing advice in relation to performance management, misconduct investigations and unfair dismissal claims, bullying, discrimination and harassment matters and occupational health and safety issues including support clients during investigations, defending prosecutions and risk management and policy development. Erin is an experienced advisor to and director of organisations in the not for profit sector and has a deep understanding of the unique challenges posed by the regulatory and industrial context of the NDIS. Erin has been listed in the “Best Lawyers” for Employment Law and Human Rights Law since 2013 and is currently ranked as “preeminent” in Doyle’s Guide.

Jennifer Parkes, Partner, Hicksons Lawyers
Jennifer is a litigation lawyer, with over 10 years’ experience, who specialises in workers compensation, education and discrimination matters. She has an extensive experience in preventing and resolving legal issues with a core focus on discrimination in the tertiary education sector. Discrimination complaints are delicate matters which can lead to protracted and often complicated cases and Jennifer’s experience and thorough approach allows her to address matters in the most effective way and provide practical settlement advice to her clients. In most cases, Jennifer is able to negotiate an alternative resolution to the dispute, avoiding the need for litigation and preserving her clients’ reputation while minimising their risk exposure. In addition to her expertise in education, Jennifer has an excellent technical knowledge of the legislative and strategic demands of claims management in discrimination and workers compensation matters. All Hicksons partners and staff are practical, forward-looking people with real-world experience and deep expertise and Jennifer can provide insights on current trends in complaints and, critically, strategic advice on the most appropriate response to issues. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Newcastle and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New England. She began with the firm in 2006 and is admitted to practice in NSW and the High Court of Australia.

Cav. Maria Saraceni, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Maria Saraceni is a barrister practising in regulatory and compliance law - particularly in workplace relations; employment-related matters and occupational safety and health. She is also an active non-executive director an accomplished public speaker and an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University.

Brett Hogan, Senior Associate, Safe Space Legal
Brett is a Senior Associate at Safe Space Legal with over 25 years of experience working with children, young people and people with disability. He is passionate about protecting the rights and ensuring the safety of children and vulnerable people. Brett is a highly skilled and experienced lawyer having worked in child protection, youth law and safeguarding, where he has advocated to protect children and young people. In addition to being a seasoned lawyer, Brett’s previous experience as a social worker and in the disability sector gives him a unique understanding of the risks and challenges faced by children and vulnerable people. Brett’s legal training and experience in the legal and disability sector, make him uniquely qualified to conduct trauma-informed investigations in relation to abuse and misconduct. He is committed to conducting fair and impartial investigations that will protect the rights of all involved. Brett strives to support organisations to provide best practice safeguarding to keep children and vulnerable people safe in a calm and thoughtful manner.

Sionea Breust, Principal Solicitor, SCB Legal
Sionea is a proud Aboriginal woman with vast experience across all core service areas delivered at SCB Legal. Sionea leads her team, provides advice and represents clients across family law, criminal law, wills and estate planning, conveyancing and in care and protection of children matters. Sionea is a highly experienced and respected criminal lawyer providing comprehensive advice and representing clients in Courts across Greater Sydney. She is an advocate for children and victims of family violence through her work as an Independent Children’s Lawyer. Sionea is also a highly experienced family law and estate planning practitioner. She is a trained mediator and collaborative law professional. Sionea and her team are committed to exceptional client support, advice and representation.

Rebekah Dorter, Principal & Nationally Accredited Mediator, Dorter Family Lawyers and Mediators
Rebekah is a highly respected and sought-after family lawyer in Sydney. Her 30-year track record of integrity, technical knowledge and negotiation skills make the difference in achieving a successful resolution. Rebekah’s background in commercial law is an invaluable asset for complex disputes involving companies, partnerships and family businesses. She brings clarity and strategic thinking to what can often be a confusing and frustrating process. As a psychology graduate and Nationally Accredited Mediator, Rebekah provides the acute conflict management expertise necessary to resolve property and parenting cases outside of the courtroom. Having Rebekah Dorter on your side is having an industry beacon looking after your best interest. Rebekah also has extensive experience in matters concerning parental alienation, which is a serious allegation and requires expert advice to navigate. Rebekah is also a practising Independent Children’s Lawyer.

Ena Shaw, Psychologist, Mediator, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner
Ena has a strong passion for mediation since starting in the mediation field over 30 years ago, having worked as a clinical practitioner, academic, researcher and trainer in a wide range of fields of mediation, combining psychological principles with conflict resolution. Ena was the Chair of the 4th National Mediation Conference in Melbourne, 1998, and Chair of the Board for the 12th National Mediation Conference, Melbourne 2014. In addition, as the Family Dispute Resolution Training Manager at Relationships Australia Victoria, she conducted an extensive range of programs in the mediation field, developing one of the first training programs in Victoria, also assisting Relationships Australia to become a Registered Training Organisation, thus developing the training Programme for the Vocational Diploma of Dispute Resolution. In her private practice, she has extensive experience in the settlement of disputes involving interpersonal relationships such as family law, elder mediation, parent-adolescent, workplace, neighbourhood and gender-based harassment disputes and have conducted extensive training programs for federal, state and local government in all these areas. Ena has lectured at RMIT in Dispute resolution. Ena was awarded Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner of the Year, 2024.