All 10 CPD units in a single, intensive day. 10 expert led sessions tailored for government sector legal professionals. All core areas ticked off. Cover all the latest developments to keep you updated in privacy law, information law, government liability and administrative review. Plus gain practical insight and strategies on AI, employment law, procurement and working with third-party governments. This conference delivers you a comprehensive overview of the legal and regulatory issues and ethical dilemmas shaping public sector practice today. Gain actionable insights and explore real-world case studies to assist your day-to-day government legal work - all in a structured program designed to maximise learning and your professional development.

Presenters

Andrew Allan, Partner, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers
Andrew is a Partner in HWLE Lawyers Canberra office. Andrew is an expert dispute resolution lawyer and works primarily in the context of common law-based insurance schemes and administrative benefit and review schemes. Andrew was recognised as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Canberra in the 2022 edition of Best LawyersTM Australia. He was recognised as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Insurance work in Canberra in the 2021 edition. He has also been recognised in the same publication for Government Practice (2017 – 2025), Insurance (2019 – 2025) and Dispute Resolution (2020 - 2025). Andrew’s clients include the Commonwealth Government, the ACT Government, and private insurers (including medical indemnity insurers). Andrew is also an experienced immigration lawyer and assists business sponsors and individuals to obtain Australian visas.


Rory Alexander, Managing Director, Aldermane
Rory is the founder and managing partner of Aldermane, a full‑service Commonwealth government projects design and delivery business supporting Defence, National Security and Social Services. A specialist in Defence and Government procurement, he has over a decade of experience guiding Commonwealth clients through major capability, service and technology acquisitions. Working across Canberra and Sydney, Rory is known for providing pragmatic, commercially minded advice from initial market approach through to negotiation, contract award and delivery. Rory founded Aldermane to offer a more flexible, collaborative and outcomes‑based service model, built around a trusted team of friendly advisors. With deep experience in both public and private sectors, he balances legal risk with commercial, policy and political realities. His expertise spans project design, contracting models, procurement strategies, tender documentation, evaluation, negotiation of liability and risk frameworks, and ongoing contract management. He holds degrees in Business (Finance) and Law and previously worked as a senior lawyer at Ashurst. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia, and is a practising member of the Law Society of the ACT and also holds an interstate practising certificate in NSW.

John Harris, Founding Partner, O’Connor Harris & Co
John Harris is a founding director of O’Connor Harris and Co Solicitors and has been a practicing solicitor for over 40 years in Canberra. John studied at the Australian National University, graduating in 1976. The majority of his time is spent working in Commercial law, Property law, Family law and Building and Construction law, however he is not limited to these areas. He enjoys the wide variety of work that O’Connor Harris allows him to undertake, and the constant challenges. John actively participates in a wide range of hobbies and interests, including rowing, skiing, fishing, reading, cooking and spending time with his thirteen grand-children, as well as being a father to six children. He is also a keen motorist with a particular interest in British sports cars. He is a member of the ACT Rowing Association, the Triumph Motor Club and the Master Builders Association. When John has spare time, he enjoys weekends in the mountains tending to his gardens and woodworks.


Alexandra Wedutenko, Partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
A leading Government and ICT lawyer as voted by Best Lawyers Australia and Chambers Asia-pacific, Alexandra Wedutenko has an enviable reputation for her success in strategic procurement data protection and governance. Alexandra regularly advises on, drafts and negotiates contracts for a range of transactions from procurement of goods and services (including build, own, operate and transfer), ICT transactions (software, cloud, hardware, integration, managed services) and joint ventures. Specialising in complex services agreements in a regulated environment, ICT, select sourcing and business process sourcing, Alexandra has acted for a range of private sector and government clients. She acts for and understands the requirements of clients in industries where security and availability of supply are critical. In this regard Alexandra regularly advises on risk identification and management, data protection and cyber security issues.


Ryan Murphy, Principal, McInnes Wilson
Ryan Murphy is a well-respected employment and industrial relations lawyer known for his practical and straightforward approach. He works with a wide range of clients, including businesses, government departments and agencies, and not-for-profits, helping them navigate complex legal challenges. Ryan is focused on delivering clear, tailored solutions that meet his clients' goals, whether that involves employment claims (during employment or relating to termination) restructures, advising on workplace issues in corporate transactions, or developing and navigating an industrial relations strategy. Clients value Ryan's responsiveness and honest advice, ensuring they receive fair, effective legal support. His expertise spans across sectors, including health, finance and superannuation, education, and startups, where he works to achieve the best possible outcomes. Ryan is as comfortable giving training over a webinar or in a room of HR professionals or inhouse counsel as he is advocating on his clients' behalf in a Commission or Court.


Natalie Butler, Partner, Government and Commercial Law Team, Mills Oakley
Natalie is an administrative law practitioner with 24 years advising government and quasi-government clients on a broad range of information law, public law and regulatory matters. She is an experienced privacy practitioner and particularly knowledgeable about data privacy compliance, privacy risk management and data governance. She’s most recently applied her information law expertise to digital transformation projects, automated decision-making initiatives and helping clients to maximise the value of data assets in ways that are legally and ethically sound. Natalie champions a privacy-by-design ethos to policy design, customer experience, service strategies and technical solutions. She’s also an advocate for embracing a genuine multi-disciplinary approach to legal advising, risk management and compliance to enhance the longevity, and value, of legal compliance strategies. Natalie regularly presents on information law topics ranging from FOI for decision makers, privacy compliance, conducting privacy impact assessments and managing privacy/secrecy requirements in the context of automation. She is a certified information privacy manager (CIPM).

Dr. Ashley Tsacalos, Partner, Clayton Utz
Ashley is a dispute resolution lawyer based in Sydney and a leading adviser to government. He is also a leading authority on the government's "model litigant obligations". Ashley has experience in all forms of dispute resolution, including litigation in various courts and tribunals, as well as mediation and conciliation. He is engaged by both the public and private sector due to his extensive experience in managing complex and often sensitive disputes. He has particular expertise in relation to contractual disputes, intellectual property disputes, negligence claims and other tortious claims as well as applications for merits-based review and judicial review. He regularly provides advice in relation to procurement and tendering issues, governance and probity issues generally as well as risk allocation and insurance. Ashley has acted for a range of individuals and organisations in Royal Commissions, Commissions of Inquiry, Judicial Inquiries and coronial inquiries. Ashley's expertise in administrative law and insurance law provides him with a unique perspective in terms of dispute resolution generally. Ashley established and continues to teach a government law course and an insurance law course at the University of Wollongong where he has also been appointed an Honorary Professorial Fellow.

Christopher Erskine SC, Barrister, Blackburn Chambers
Chris Erskine SC was admitted in 1982 and went to the bar in 1993, becoming a Senior Counsel in 2008. He practices in Canberra in all civil litigation, but especially litigation involving the government. He was one of the counsel for NSW in the largest civil litigation in the history of the ACT, the case arising from the 2003 bushfires, which ran from 2003 to 2014.

Scott Alden, Partner, Mills Oakley
With over 25 years of experience, Scott specialises as a legal advisor on significant projects and procurements for government clients. Scott’s role of lead advisor to significant projects often incorporates legal and procurement expertise on the same transaction, as well as strategic probity advice. In recognition of his position as a leading government lawyer, Scott was one of the first Law Society Accredited Specialists in Government and Administrative Law, both Commonwealth and State (with a focus on government commercial and procurement transactions), and has been appointed by the Law Society of NSW as the Head Assessor for that Specialist Accreditation in 2024. Scott also writes and lectures two procurement courses for the Masters Programs at both College of Law and the University of Melbourne. Scott is currently on an international committee that is in the process of drafting international Modern Slavery guidelines. He is experienced in drafting and implementing key project documents including market sounding/engagement documents, industry briefings, RFTs, tender evaluation plans, tender evaluation reports, commercial contracts and agreements and legal advices and resolutions to support decisions.

Associate Professor Dr Jason Donnelly, Barrister, Latham Chambers
Associate Professor Dr. Jason Donnelly is a leading academic and barrister with a strong focus on immigration and public law in Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws with Honours (First Class & University Medal), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Dr. Donnelly completed his studies at the University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, and the University of Western Sydney. He began his academic career as a law lecturer at the age of 23 and was called to the bar at 25. Before joining the bar, Dr. Donnelly had the privilege of working for Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG (former Justice of the High Court of Australia) and Justice Peter McClellan AM KC (former Chief Judge at Common Law, Supreme Court of NSW). As a barrister, Dr. Donnelly has been involved in over 287 published cases across Australia, with significant experience in the High Court, the Federal Court, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Administrative Review Tribunal. His practice has seen success in 76 Tribunal trials and 66 judicial review applications. He has also acted in 26 matters before the High Court. In addition to his legal practice, Dr. Donnelly has contributed to numerous legal journals and co-authored several legal publications. He has participated in various Commonwealth statutory inquiries and presented papers at conferences across Australia. Dr. Donnelly has had the opportunity to represent a diverse range of clients, including internationally recognised musicians (i.e. Skepta, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, J Hus, Layzie Bone and Jason Bradley DeFord (Jelly Roll)), politicians, law enforcement officers, sports professionals (i.e. Allen Iverson and Alexander Devyatov), and others from various fields. Currently, Dr. Donnelly serves as an Associate Professor (Level D) in the School of Law at Western Sydney University and practices at Latham Chambers with a national focus.

Rob Reitano, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers
Rob Reitano was commenced his legal career as the associate to Justice P. R Munro a Judge of the then Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in late 1986. In August 1988 he commenced practice as a solicitor with Clayton Utz solicitors in its employment and industrial law section under the guidance of Joe Catanzariti who later became a Vice President of the Fair Work Commission. In August 1991 he commenced practice at the NSW BAR as barrister practising in the areas of employment and industrial law acting in particular for trade unions in the predecessor to the Fair Work Commission, the Industrial relations Commission of Australia, in the Industrial Court of Australia and in the Federal Court of Australia. He later developed a speciality in work health and safety prosecutions as a prosecutor acting for the then WorkCover Authority of NSW. His practice over many has extended to a wide range of other matters including administrative review proceedings, commercial litigation and so on. Rob was appointed as a sessional member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in April 2019 and was assigned to the Taxation and Commercial Division. In the AAT Rob gained a reputation for being able to deal with matters across a range of divisions which included dealing with visa cancellations and refusals, social security appeals, child support matters, NDIS matters, vocational training educational institution registration, tax agent and finance industry disciplinary matters, bankruptcy matters, taxation and superannuation guarantee matters and even a sports anti-doping case. In 2024 following the end of his term of appointment he returned to full time practice at the Bar. He is keen lawn bowler, an AFL umpire and has a marathon PB of 3:21:58. His other main interest is as Age Manager of his nine years old daughters little athletics group.

Nick Topfer, Special Counsel, Maddocks
Nick advises government agencies on complex ICT procurements and disputes. He has drafted bespoke contracts and contracts based on SourceIT, ProcureIT and ASDEFCON templates. He has also advised on RFT documentation and procurement strategy, compliance with law and policy and evaluation and negotiation processes. Nick has experience drafting and advising on performance based contracts, design and review processes and agile development processes. Having previously worked in the Commonwealth Government (in the Attorney General’s portfolio) and on secondment with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Nick is well positioned to help government clients achieve appropriate resolution of issues in line with policy and Commonwealth objectives. Given his breadth of experience advising on IT procurement and negotiating with major vendors, Nick will be able to provide efficient and proactive legal services.


Michael Burton, Principal, Aldermane
Michael is a commercial lawyer whose expertise is underpinned both by his training as an economist, and his extensive experience with government oversight functions. A government procurement specialist, Michael has more than 15 years of experience working in legal, commercial and governance roles across the private, government and parliamentary sectors. A key part of Michael’s approach is his genuine interest in the work and purpose of his clients. Passionate about learning, working in teams, and delivering results, Michael takes on challenges with enthusiasm and energy. Combining technical skill with a people-first approach, he tackles new opportunities by considering not only what needs to be done, but indeed who depends on it – and therefore why it should be done to the highest possible standard. Michael holds degrees in economics, arts, and law. He was admitted into practise in Western Australia, and holds an unrestricted practising certificate from the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory.

Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Government Lawyers (25 February 2026)

Join leading government and ICT specialists for a focused core units program tailored to public sector legal practice. Examine how AI is already being used across the profession, including privacy risks, automated decision making concerns, and emerging ethical obligations for government lawyers. Strengthen your contract negotiation capability with practical guidance on preparation, strategy, and managing legal, commercial and ethical pressures in high value arrangements. Conclude with a timely exploration of the unique ethical responsibilities of in-house government lawyers, including the challenge of maintaining professional independence when your client is also your employer.

TEST Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Government Sector Lawyers (ACT, 25 February 2026)