Across the latest developments in property law? With unfair contract terms (UCTs) becoming illegal and significant penalties for breach applying from November 2023, you can’t afford to miss this roundup of the latest and greatest issues across the core areas. Unveil the latest knowledge, tips, and traps across strata, planning and environment, AI in property transactions, building defect disputes, contract defaults, IPSO facto and much more.

Presenters

Ms. Maria Tsakirios, Special Counsel, MinterEllison
Maria Tsakirios Maria Tsakirios is a Special Counsel at MinterEllison specialising in property and leasing (commercial, industrial and retail) disputes. Maria has acted for a number of publicly listed and national corporations including shopping centre owners, managers and also for property developers. She is an experienced litigator, with particular experience in property and development and leasing litigation and commercial litigation, including contract law and competition and consumer law. She also practices widely in all forms of dispute resolution including mediations, arbitrations and commercial settlement conferences. Maria's approach to resolving disputes is practical and commercial. She enjoys getting to know her clients and the commercial drivers of their businesses so that she can ensure she provides tailored risk management advice to help manage disputes in their infancy and avoid litigation where possible. Maria is always mindful of her client's key objectives and commercial drivers and conducts litigation in a way which is ever mindful of the need to achieve legally correct but also commercial outcomes.  


Ms. Rani Gandha, Partner, Turnbull Hill Lawyers
Rani Gandha is the Partner in charge of the Business, Commercial and Property team at Turnbull Hill Lawyers. She acts in a wide range of property work, including acting for buyers and sellers of residential and commercial property and for lenders and borrowers in respect of residential mortgage matters. She has extensive expertise in dealing with all types of real property, including Old System, Torrens Title, Qualified Title and Strata Title. Rani also acts for clients in respect of resumptions of property by Transport for NSW, creating easements by way of Transfer and acts for land developers in respect of subdivisions. She advises clients on commercial and retail property leasing matters including negotiation and preparation of leasing documents and assists clients in a wide range of business issues. Dedicated to ensuring her clients’ interests are adequately protected, Rani users her experience to understand their goals and objectives and gives them realistic and practical advice. Rani also has a keen interest in and practises in Estate Planning (including tax effective Wills and associated documents).


Mr. Sean Ellison, National Economics & Forecasting Manager, Cushman & Wakefield
Sean Ellison is Cushman and Wakefield’s National Economics & Forecasting Manager for Australia, working out of the Sydney office. He is responsible for modelling and forecasting the performance of various asset classes, providing economic commentary, and contributing to broader thought leadership output. Sean has more than a decade of experience in the property and financial services sectors in Asia and Australia. Prior to joining Cushman and Wakefield, Sean was a Senior Economist with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in Singapore and Sydney, responsible for producing RICS’s research output. Prior to this Sean worked as a strategist in the Hong Kong and Singapore financial services industries, where he advised global institutional investors on strategies for Asian equity, foreign exchange, fixed income, commodity and derivative markets. Sean also modelled and maintained forecasts across asset classes and provided a top-down analysis of major economic events. He did his undergraduate work at Brock University in Canada, and graduate school at the City University of Hong Kong as well as Johns Hopkins University in the United States.


Mr. Ian McKnight, Special Counsel, Pobi Lawyers
Ian McKnight is a Practice Group leader and widely regarded as a doyen of strata law in New South Wales. His standing has been earned over the course of a 43 year career bestriding property law and strata management. Unique amongst property lawyers, Ian is a genuine specialist. Strata and community title law is not a part time pursuit, it forms the core of his day-to-day legal practice. He brings firsthand experience of the strata challenges to his advice from his time as a director of a corporate strata management firm. A sought after keynote speaker, Ian provides regular education sessions to the Real Estate Institute of Australia and on occasion to Strata Community Australia. He publishes widely on the subject of strata law. Ian counts among his clients strata managing agents, owners corporations, developers, building managers, property professionals, real estate investors and regulators.


Mr. Bede Haines, Barrister, University Chambers
Bede Haines undertakes a diverse range of work including litigating and advising on property disputes, contractual disputes, trade practices and insolvency matters. His experience includes: representing and advising in respect of property disputes including over sale of land contracts, leases, easements, options, service of notices, contracts and property rights; advising property developers, superannuation funds, corporate trustees, large landholders and significant investors in respect of property rights and property disputes; developing strategy in respect of termination of contracts and bespoke contractual clauses to deal with matters which otherwise may often give rise to litigation; conducting a litigation in the Supreme Court, Federal Court, High Court and other courts and tribunals; providing advice in respect of trade practices issues, insolvency issues and debt issues including debt recovery. QUALIFICATIONS include: Bachelor of Arts - University of Sydney; Bachelor of Laws - University of New South Wales.


Ms. Bianca Gallifuoco, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Bianca accepts briefs to advise and appear in all areas of law, and has specialised experienced in environment and planning law, regulatory law, and administrative law. Prior to coming to the bar, Bianca worked as a senior legal officer in the litigation team at the Department of Planning and Environment. During her time as a solicitor, Bianca worked in litigation, advice and mediation roles. She has experience in civil and criminal litigation in the Local Court, Land and Environment Court, NCAT and the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal. Bianca also has experience working in performing arts and media.


Mr. Brendan Maier, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley; Councillor, Urban Development Industry of Australia (NSW)
Brendan Maier is a partner in the property team of Colin Biggers & Paisley. Brendan provides high quality legal advice on major commercial, industrial, residential, tourism and agricultural projects throughout Australia. He is a leading property lawyer who enjoys applying his industry knowledge and networks to drive commercial value for his clients. He has been: listed as a recommended lawyer in real estate by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2016; listed as a recommended property and real estate lawyer in Sydney in Doyle's Guide 2016; elected as a councillor of the Urban Development Industry of Australia (NSW); elected as a councillor of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW.


Ms. Sarah Melville, Senior Associate, Baker McKenzie
Sarah is a Senior Associate in the Projects and Construction Team. Sarah specialises in dispute resolution and risk management in the areas of construction, energy and major projects; including in oil and gas and renewable energy, infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings. Sarah is qualified in Australia, England and Wales and Ireland. She has worked internationally, across several jurisdictions, and has extensive experience in project delivery and across the full range of dispute resolution processes including litigation, expert determination and domestic and international arbitration. Prior to moving back to Australia in 2022, Sarah spent over 5 years working in-house for a global energy corporation, primarily advising on project delivery and dispute resolution for the Future Growth Project, an international major project for the expansion of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan. Sarah was named as a Rising Star 2023 by Australasian Lawyer.


Mr. Nick Christiansen, Partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Nick is a commercial litigator specialising in complex commercial disputes, competition and consumer law claims and regulatory actions, insolvency and corporations law proceedings. Nick has extensive experience in contentious property matters, acting for large landowners, property investors, property developers, corporates, and government bodies. This includes leasing disputes (including retail leases), sale and purchase disputes, option disputes, caveat disputes, disputes relating to mortgages and other securities, and construction and property development disputes. His competition and consumer law practice covers restrictive trade practices and anti-competitive conduct, the trade conduct protections, advertising and marketing, consumer guarantees, and franchising law and regulation. He also acts in corporate and personal insolvency litigation, advises corporate clients in non-contentious insolvency and restructuring matters, and acts for leading banks and financial institutions in enforcement and regulatory compliance matters.


Ms. Holly Scott, Senior Associate, Baker McKenzie
Holly is a Senior Associate in the Major Projects and Construction Team with extensive experience in the construction industry and dual qualification as a civil engineer. Holly has a special interest in renewables and infrastructure disputes and expertise in large scale litigation in the Supreme and Federal Courts, arbitrations, adjudications, mediations and negotiations. She has acted for a number of international contractors and suppliers of renewable's infrastructure in formal disputes as well as in commercial processes during the life span of projects. Holly is able to quickly grasp the technical engineering concepts involved in many construction disputes and apply that knowledge to commercial outcomes and precise court processes. Holly works flexibly with clients' needs throughout, and prior to, disputes to deliver commercial strategies and practical solutions.


Michael Osborne, Principal, Osbornes Lawyer
Michael Osborne is the principal of Osbornes Lawyers and has been in private practice for nearly 30 years. Osbornes Lawyers is a speciality legal practice focusing on commercial and business law, with particular expertise in real property. Michael is an accredited property specialist, chair of the Advisory Committee for the Law Society of New South Wales for the specialist accreditation scheme in property, a member of the Property Committee of the Law Society. Michael has extensive practical experience in most aspects of property law, including options, sales, acquisitions, strata and community title, and commercial and retail leasing. He particularly specialises in property development - structuring and documenting the acquisition and sale of the site and the associated work: joint venture or shareholder agreements, building contracts, development management agreements, financing and security, leasing, advice on stamp duty and GST, and off the plan sales. In the period 2011 to 2013, Michael served as a member and alternate chair of the Minister for Fair Trading's Experts' Committee on retirement village contracts to draft the standard retirement village contract. That document is now comprised in schedule 2 of the Retirement Villages Regulation 2009.


Robert Schneider, Consultant, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers
Robert has extensive experience acting and advising in commercial disputes and specialises in retail and commercial lease disputes and other property related litigation. Robert has assisted a broad range of clients in the property industry, including owners of shopping centres, owners of other retail properties, owners of commercial properties, large retail and commercial tenants and property developers and investors. Robert regularly chairs and has previously presented at external seminars on commercial and retail leases and other property related seminars. Robert has been listed in Best LawyersTM Australia for Alternative Dispute Resolution in the 2020 and 2021 editions as well as the 2022 and 2023 editions.