A Conversation with Hon Philip Ruddock AO and Dr Abul Rizvi PSM. Hear directly from the architects of Australia’s modern immigration system, live and in conversation.
To claim your complimentary attendance at this exclusive webinar, use promotional code FREE at the cart.
This is a rare and not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear firsthand from two of the key figures behind Australia’s immigration policy, Hon Philip Ruddock AO and Dr Abul Rizvi PSM, as they explore how the system practitioners rely on today was designed and delivered.
This complimentary exclusive one hour session is timed to coincide with the launch of Nation Building: How Immigration Made Australia and offers a behind-the-scenes perspective you will not find anywhere else from those who shaped the policy themselves.
Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
1.00pm to 2.00pm Nation Building: How Immigration Made Australia
Through a live Q&A session, Dr Rizvi will lead a conversation with Mr Ruddock exploring:
- How Australia successfully shifted to a skills-focused migration program
- The policy architecture and integrity underpinning today’s visa system
- The economic impact of immigration on growth, labour markets and population ageing
- Key lessons for managing immigration in the national interest, now and into the future
For immigration lawyers and advisors, it is a unique opportunity to understand the origins, intent and evolution of the system you work within every day, directly from those who built it.
Places are limited and demand is expected to be high. Secure your complimentary place now.
In Conversation with Hon Philip Ruddock AO
The Hon Philip Ruddock AO is a former Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Minister, and Australia's longest serving Immigration Minister, and former Attorney-General in the federal government of Prime Minister John Howard. He was the Liberal member for the federal seats of Parramatta, Dundas, and later Berowra in Sydney, making him the second-longest-serving parliamentarian in the history of the Australian Parliament with 43 years of service. He also served as Mayor of Hornsby Shire.
Facilitated by Dr Abul Rizvi PSM is the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration. He was awarded the Public Service Medal and the Centenary Medal for services to the development and implementation of immigration policy, including in particular the reshaping of Australia’s intake to focus on skilled migration.
Presenters
The Hon Philip Ruddock AO, former Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Minister
Philip Ruddock is Australia’s second longest-serving federal parliamentarian and its longest-serving Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. First elected in 1973, he served in the House of Representatives for 43 years and held the immigration portfolio from 1996 to 2003, overseeing major reforms to Australia’s migration program. A Cabinet Minister from 1998 to 2007, Ruddock also served as Minister for Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Reconciliation, and Attorney-General. Across half a century of public service, he has helped shape national policy on immigration, multiculturalism, reconciliation, law and governance.
Dr Abul Rizvi PSM, former Deputy Secretary, Department of Immigration
Abul Rizvi is an economics, accounting and public policy graduate from the ANU and holds a PhD in immigration and population policy from Melbourne University. From 1998, Rizvi managed major growth in overseas students, skilled temporary migration, visitors and working holiday makers, including development of pathways to permanent migration. Between 1996 and 2006, Rizvi was Chair of the Commonwealth/State Working Party on State-Specific and Regional Migration that gave state/territory governments a much greater role in immigration to their jurisdictions. He was responsible for commissioning research on the demographic, economic and budgetary impact of immigration that was extensively used in development of the 2002 and 2007 Intergenerational Reports. He was Deputy Secretary responsible for all aspects of immigration, humanitarian, citizenship and settlement policy from 2005. Rizvi was awarded the Public Service Medal and the Centenary Medal for services to the development and implementation of Australian immigration policy. Rizvi is a frequent media commentator on population, immigration and its impact on Australia’s economic and budget directions. He was invited to participate in the 2022 Jobs and Skill Summit and published a book in the ‘In the National Interest’ series titled ‘Population Shock’. Rizvi recently presented on immigration policy in a televised address to the National Press Club and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW.
