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
Andrew is a Partner in the HWL Ebsworth National Insurance Group, based in Canberra. 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’s clients include private insurers (including medical indemnity insurers), the Commonwealth Government, and the ACT Government. Andrew has extensive experience in personal injury claims, commercial disputes, asbestos-related disease claims, investigations, complaints processes, coronial inquests, and advising on indemnity issues. Andrew was recognised as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Canberra in the 2023 edition of Best LawyersTM Australia. He was recognised as ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Insurance work in Canberra in the 2022 edition. He has also been recognised in the same publication for Government Practice (2017 – 2024), Insurance (2019 – 2024) and Dispute Resolution (2020 - 2024).


Rory Alexander, Managing Director, Aldermane
Rory is Aldermane's founder and managing partner. He is a specialist procurement and major projects lawyer, with a focus on Defence and Government procurement and the acquisition and sustainment of complex military capabilities. He works in Canberra and Sydney and provides pragmatic and commercially-minded advice to Commonwealth departments on all aspects of the procurement process, from the initial approach to market through to negotiation and contract award. Rory founded Aldermane because he wanted to serve his clients flexibly, and without the constraints of working in a traditional law firm. He is passionate about building a team of trusted and friendly advisors who are truly collaborative and outcomes-focused. With over 10 years’ experience in the legal industry, working for both public sector and private clients, Rory is able to balance his clients’ legal risks with their commercial and political realities. Rory provides advice to his clients throughout the whole procurement lifecycle, including: developing contract structures, project designs and procurement strategies, preparing approach to market materials and tender documentation, evaluating tenders for commercial and legal risks, negotiating contracts with preferred tenderers, including in relation to liability frameworks, indemnities, performance management, warranties, intellectual property and insurance, and managing contractual compliance during delivery. During his career, Rory has received the following awards and recognition for his work with Government clients: Finalist - 30under30, Government (2019), Rising Star - Australasian Lawyer Magazine (2020), Finalist - Defence Consultant of the Year, Defence Industry Awards (2023), Finalist - Government Partner of the Year, Partner of the Year Awards (2023 and 2024), Winner - Innovator of the Year, Australian Law Awards (2023) and Winner - Projects, Energy and Resources Partner of the Year, Partner of the Year Awards (2024). Rory holds a Bachelor of Business (Finance) and a Bachelor of Laws. 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. Prior to founding Aldermane, Rory was a senior associate at the international law firm, Ashurst.

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. 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, Mills Oakley
Natalie has significant government sector experience. She’s advised government and quasi-government clients on a broad range of public law and regulatory matters. With nineteen years experience as a privacy practitioner, she’s 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, 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 risk strategies and solutions. Natalie has worked closely with a number of government clients, especially those from the social services and health portfolios.

Ashley Tsacalos, Partner, Clayton Utz
Dr Ashley Tsacalos 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". He was ranked in a recent Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific Guide in the Government Category and was described in a recent APL 500 as "brilliant" in the area of dispute resolution. 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 generally (such as misfeasance in public office) 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. He also has earned a reputation as a "go to" person for royal commissions and inquiries as a result of his experience in acting for a range of individuals and organisations in Royal Commissions, Commissions of Inquiry, Judicial Inquiries and coronial inquiries. He is currently acting for the Low family in the Dreamworld Coronial Inquest. Also, in the last 3 years, he has acted for Aussie Home Loans in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry; RSL LifeCare in the Inquiry under the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 (NSW) being conducted by the Hon. P A Bergin SC; The Uniting Church in relation to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigating the Knox Grammar School; three officers of a corporation in relation to the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption as well as the former CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW in the Special Commission of Inquiry into Greyhound Racing in NSW. Ashley's expertise in administrative law and insurance law provides him with a unique perspective in terms of dispute resolution generally. He has acted for numerous Australian government and NSW government departments and agencies. He is regularly engaged to provide advice on administrative law and public law issues, including freedom of information, privacy and administrator decision making. 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. He has previously taught insurance law at the University of Sydney, the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University as well as dispute resolution and civil procedure as well as corporations law at the Western Sydney University. Ashley is a state editor of the LexisNexis publication: Privacy Law and a regular author of articles in this publication. He completed his Doctorate of Philosophy in Law at the University of Sydney in 2012 with a doctoral thesis on constitutional law and appellate advocacy.

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.

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

Carolina Dorman, Partner, MinterEllison
Carolina's practice covers all aspects of procurement, contracting, funding and corporate and commercial law. This spans across advising on project strategy in the initial stages, preparing complex procurement and contractual documents and providing legal support during commercial negotiations to providing contract management advice post-execution. Her commercial practice extends to numerous private sector clients with corporate restructures and corporate law matters. She is an active supporter of MinterEllison’s inclusion and diversity agendas, including actively supporting the progression of women and culturally diverse people in the legal profession.

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.

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

Learn how AI is being used across the profession, including its risks, privacy implications and ethical considerations. Develop practical contract negotiation skills, from preparation and strategy to managing commercial and ethical pressures. The program concludes with a focused exploration of the ethical responsibilities and professional independence of in-house government lawyers.

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