Stay at the forefront of personal injury law with an examination of new legislation, expert insights on the latest case developments, evolving liability frameworks and practical professional skills. You will gain expert critical updates on the new disease provision sunder the Workers Compensation Act. Secure essential understanding, tips traps and strategies in public liability, concurrent liability and contributory negligence. Share in the experience of seasoned practitioners who will provide guidance on ethics, practice management and mediation. Gain actionable strategies, the latest legal updates and practical tools to manage risk and achieve better client outcomes.
Friday, 6 March 2026
Session 1: Case Update, Concurrent Liability, Contributory Negligence and New Disease Provisions
Chair: Roshana May, Consultant, Roshana May
9.00am to 10.00am New Disease Provisions Under the Workers Compensation Act
Although the threshold for causation for a disease or aggravation of a disease injury was amended in 2012 it is only recently that there have been decisions for this new test. Examine:
- The new test substitutes “main contributing factor” for “substantial contributing factor”
- The Presidential decision of AV v AW & subsequent decisions
Presented by Dennis Epstein, Barrister, 2 Selborne Chambers
Practice Management and BUsiness Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm Effective Management of Psychosocial Risk Factors in Legal Practice
- Legal frameworks and regulatory updates for workplace psychosocial risk management
- Legal practice psychosocial hazards
- Effective and practical control measures
- Using work design to control psychosocial hazards
Presented by Sue Chennell, Director, Shared Safety and Risk
Session 2: Ethics, Practice Management and Professional Skills for Personal Injury Lawyers
Chair: Karen Bulluss, Principal, McInnes Wilson
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on NSW legislation
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Preparing for a Personal Injury Mediation
Presented by Richard Royle, Barrister, Sir Owen Dixon Chambers
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
12.15pm to 1.15pm Navigating Contributory Negligence
- Determining the test for contributory negligence
- The standard of care including children, the disabled and the elderly
- Reduction in damages awarded
- Specific examples including motor accidents
Presented by Damien Toohey, Barrister/Mediator, 2 Selborne Chambers
10.00am to 11.00am The Changing Landscape of Concurrent Liability
- Labour hire and host employers
- The non-delegable duty of employers and what it really means
- Contribution from employers in labour hire cases
- Making sense of Synergy Scaffolding
Presented by Colin Purdy, Barrister, Coram Chambers
11.15am to 12.15pm Annual Public Liability Case Law Update
- Personal injury public liability cases in the NSW Court of Appeal
- Personal injury public liability cases in the High Court
Presented by Dr Tim Channon, Consultant, Barry Nilsson Lawyers
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Ethics and Professional Responsibility
3.00pm to 4.00pm Ethical and Conduct Issues in Personal Injury Claims
Join David Miller, the Chair of the Law Society of NSW's Ethics Committee who also sits on the Society's Professional Conduct and Disclosure Committees to explore the ethical issues of:
- Lawyers' paramount duties
- Conduct at mediations (are you really making a "final offer")
- Relaying offers and "riding instructions"
- Ex parte communications to courts
- Harman (Hearne v Street) confidentiality obligations
- The Solicitor Conduct Rules including solicitor/client conflicts
Presented by David Miller, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley; Preeminent Leading Dust Diseases Lawyers (Defendant), Doyle’s Guide 2025
Presenters
Dr Tim Channon, Consultant, Barry Nilsson Lawyers
Tim is a Consultant at Barry.Nilsson. with over 35 years’ experience specialising in litigating numerous insurance and general commercial disputes, including property damage and product liability, indemnity and recovery matters, arson and fraud. Tim has advised insurers on claims relating to cheque fraud and mortgage insurance across the entire sector from the construction, manufacturing and mining industries to the small business sector and householders. He has drafted household, motor vehicle, medical indemnity and lenders mortgage insurance policies for several insurers and acted in many complex commercial disputes, such as contractual, building and trade practices disputes.
Damien Toohey, Barrister/Mediator, 2 Selborne Chambers
Damien was called to the Bar in 2019 and became a qualified mediator in 2022. He focuses his practice in Criminal defence, Estate matters encompassing Family Provision and contested Wills, Family Law and Workers Compensation claims. Damien has a particular interest in Aviation Law, specifically in responding to Show Cause Notices, conferences with CASA, attending reviews in the AAT, and for the more serious matters, appearing in Coronial Inquests. Damien’s passion for Aviation Law stemmed from his career as an international pilot with Qantas where he ultimately operated the Airbus A380. Recently, he has re-qualified as an airline pilot and is trained, once again, on the A380. Damien’s legal background is in Personal Injury litigation, comprising over 10 years in Workers Compensation, Motor Vehicle and Medical Negligence for both parties. In 2022, Damien became a qualified mediator with Resolution Institute of Australia. He is available to accept briefs to act as a private mediator in Aviation disputes, Commercial disputes, Personal Injury ‘shuttle style’ mediation, and Estate mediation. Damien brings a conciliatory approach to his practice as a Barrister and as a Mediator, with an emphasis on justice between parties. His established mediation practice can be found at https://www.respectmediation.com.au/
David Miller, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley
David Miller is a Partner in the Disputes & Investigations team at Colin Biggers & Paisley. Widely experienced in asbestos-related matters, David has spoken on indemnity and claims management issues to audiences in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. David's practice also extends to corporate governance and risk management (including regulator actions involving the ACCC and various WorkCover authorities), Australian Consumer Law issues, defamation, and commercial disputes. David is listed as a leading insurance and product liability lawyer by Best Lawyers in Australia. Doyles Guide lists him as a preeminent/leafing lawyer in dust diseases claims. David sits on the Professional Conduct Committee and Disclosure Committees of the Law Society of NSW and has chaired the Society's Ethics Committee since 2022.
Roshana May, Consultant, Roshana May
Roshana May is a lawyer and Accredited Specialist with a distinguished 40 year career in New South Wales personal injury law specialising in workers compensation. Over four decades, she has become a respected leader, a subject matter expert, adviser, and advocate in the field, contributing extensively to legislative reform, scheme design, and the protection of workers’ rights. In addition to extensive involvement in workers compensation reform since 2005, Roshana has also an industrial law practice and participated in the reform of the CTP scheme in 2017. Roshana has co authored numerous submissions to the Standing Committee on Law & Justice and has provided evidence at several inquiries. She is a former President of the NSW Branch of the Australian Lawyers Alliance and currently serves as its NSW Director. She is also a member of the Law Society of New South Wales Injury Compensation Committee and sits on the Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Committee for Personal Injury. Throughout her career, Roshana has remained a dedicated advocate for injured workers and a passionate voice in workers compensation law reform.
Dennis Epstein, Barrister, 2 Selborne Chambers
Dennis Epstein is a Barrister at 2nd Floor, Selborne Chambers, Sydney. Dennis has been practicing in the personal injury field for over 30 years. He initially practised as a Solicitor for over 13 years including 7 years at GIO. He was admitted as a Barrister in 1995 and since that time has practice exclusively in the personal injury field, especially in workers' compensation, CTP and public liability claims. He was also appointed for several years as both a District Court and Local Court Arbitrator and has undergone mediation accreditation training.
Colin Purdy, Barrister, Coram Chambers
Colin has a long background in insurance law, firstly as a solicitor and, more recently, at the NSW Bar. Life insurance is a key area of his practice, particularly Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection claims. TPD has been a growth area in recent years and he has appeared in many of the reported first instance and appellate decisions, eg Chapman v United Super, Erzurumlu v Kellogg, Hannover Life v Dargan, Maund v FSS Trustee and Hellessey v MetLife (trial and appeal). Colin also practises extensively in personal injury and common law as well as building and construction and commercial litigation.
Richard Royle, Barrister, Sir Owen Dixon Chambers
Richard Royle is a Barrister at Sir Owen Dixon Chambers. He specialises in common law with a particular interest in motor vehicle law, medical negligence, public liability, sexual assault and travel law. He is engaged in numerous catastrophic and other cases, and represents Australian residents injured in Australia and overseas. Richard was originally admitted to practice in the UK, but has been based in NSW for 25 years. He is a former NSW State President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (the largest national lawyers group in Australia) and current committee member of the ALA and the Personal Injuries Common Law Committee of the NSW Bar Association. Richard regularly gives papers at legal seminars and conferences in personal injury related subjects. He is admitted to practice in England, Wales, most States of Australia and Western Samoa. He has chambers both in Sydney and London.
Sue Chennell, Director, Shared Safety and Risk
Sue Chennell started professional life as a Physiotherapist and quickly moved into working with elite sports teams and professional athletes where maximising individual and team performance was always the goal. When sore thumbs drew her into injury prevention and ergonomics, Sue quickly saw that the workplace was not dissimilar to the sports field. Creating healthy and safe workspaces and people not only amplify human potential but also that of teams and organisations more broadly. Fast forward 17 years in the health and safety industry and as Director of the bespoke consultancy Shared Safety and Risk, Sue’s passions still lie in people. Observing, collaborating with and coaching individuals, teams and her clients to solve problems and integrate health and safety management into the day to day. Sue’s other passions are the ocean, the environment, taking the odd (calculated) risk and adventuring with her young family. As a skilled people manager, Sue has built an experienced, mature yet dynamic team of associate WHS consultants committed to Shared Safety Risk’s collaborative approach.
Karen Bulluss, Principal, McInnes Wilson Lawyers
Karen is a Principal within the firm's Insurance division. She has been defending claims on behalf of major insurers since 2003. She specialises in resolving all types of CTP claims arising out of motor vehicle accidents and is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law. From 1 December 2017 until 1 March 2021, when the NSW Personal Injury Commission commenced, Karen was appointed as a DRS Claims Assessor by the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority. During her appointment, she assessed and delivered decisions on Claims Assessment disputes relating to liability and damages. She has also been published in the Law Society of NSW Journal. Karen regularly provides training seminars to insurance clients covering topics such as indemnity, blameless accidents, contributory negligence, and Compensation to Relatives claims. She has also provided one-on-one training for her clients' employees with no claims experience and become an informal mentor to new claims staff.
This seminar is part of a series
Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Personal Injury Lawyers (6 March 2026)
Friday, 6 March 2026
Join senior personal injury practitioners for a focused core units program addressing the realities of PI practice in 2026. Start with practical guidance on managing psychosocial risk in legal workplaces, including current regulatory obligations, key hazards, and effective control measures that can be implemented immediately. Then examine the ethical and conduct issues that most often arise in personal injury claims, with clear insight into lawyers’ paramount duties, mediation conduct, confidentiality obligations, conflicts, and communications with the court. Conclude with practical guidance on preparing for personal injury mediations, including strategy, instructions, settlement dynamics and client management.
Chair
Karen Bulluss, Principal, McInnes Wilson
Ethics and Professional Responsibility
3.00pm to 4.00pm Ethical and Conduct Issues in Personal Injury Claims
Join David Miller, the Chair of the Law Society of NSW's Ethics Committee who also sits on the Society's Professional Conduct and Disclosure Committees to explore the ethical issues of:
- Lawyers' paramount duties
- Conduct at mediations (are you really making a "final offer")
- Relaying offers and "riding instructions"
- Ex parte communications to courts
- Harman (Hearne v Street) confidentiality obligations
- The Solicitor Conduct Rules including solicitor/client conflicts
Presented by David Miller, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley; Preeminent Leading Dust Diseases Lawyers (Defendant), Doyle’s Guide 2025
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD units including:
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Preparing for a Personal Injury Mediation
Presented by Richard Royle, Barrister, Sir Owen Dixon Chambers
Practice Management and Business Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm Effective Management of Psychosocial Risk Factors in Legal Practice
- Legal frameworks and regulatory updates for workplace psychosocial risk management
- Legal practice psychosocial hazards
- Effective and practical control measures
- Using work design to control psychosocial hazards
Presented by Sue Chennell, Director, Shared Safety and Risk
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