Our acclaimed Government Practice program is back, featuring 10 crucial topics tailored for government lawyers. Delve into CPD compulsory units, privacy, integrity, and administrative law updates. Engage in discussions covering WHS, model litigant obligations, privacy impact assessments, and workplace law changes. Earn all CPD points in one essential day, elevating your mastery in these critical areas of law. Attend to stay ahead in evolving legal landscapes crucial for effective government representation. 

Presenters

Ms. Katherine Armytage, Partner, Maddocks
Katherine Armytage is a partner in the Maddocks Canberra office, where she has a vibrant practice in information law, particularly in the areas of privacy and data protection. Katherine has provided detailed advice on the operation and application of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and has undertaken numerous privacy impact assessments (PIAs) for Australian Government and other clients. Katherine is a self-confessed ‘privacy nerd’, and actually enjoys identifying and examining information flows associated with complex Australian Government projects, identifying privacy and other legal risks and existing mitigations, and developing creative and practical solutions to help her clients minimise those risks. Katherine has recently been involved in some very interesting privacy and data governance matters – from PIAs for complex new legislation (the Digital ID Bill 2023), to working through eligible data breaches involving loss of highly sensitive personal information, to helping with the establishment and operation of complex data sharing arrangements.


Ms. Maxine Feletti, Partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Maxine Feletti is a safety, risk and disputes lawyer with significant experience acting for both Australian Government and private sector clients. Her primary areas of expertise are common law and statutory claims arising from workplace accidents, work health and safety (WHS), asbestos litigation, transport related coronial inquiries, various insurance and indemnity matters and statutory interpretation more generally. Maxine has extensive advocacy and dispute resolution experience and has appeared in various State and Territory courts, tribunals, mediations, arbitrations and settlement conferences. She also has extensive legal compliance audit experience, especially in the context of WHS. Maxine holds a lead auditor in WHS management systems qualification, to complement her existing audit experience and capability.


Mr. 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).


Dr. Jason Donnelly, Barrister, Latham Chambers
Dr. Jason Donnelly is a leading national barrister and academic (a university lecturer) in the area of migration law in Australia. Dr. Donnelly has advised and appeared in various significant cases in both the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Federal Court of Australia, published in various leading journal articles, provided expert evidence to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, been cited extensively in a Commonwealth Parliamentary Report and is the founding author and Course Convenor of the Graduate Diploma in Australian Migration Law at Western Sydney University (WSU). Dr. Jason Donnelly is a preeminent figure in Australian administrative and migration law. His extensive career encompasses advisory roles, legal appearances, and contributions to parliamentary inquiries. He has 204 published judgments covering: * 95 rigorous legal appeals primarily in the Federal Court of Australia; * 88 trials in various statutory Tribunals, with a focus on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal; * 17 High Court of Australia appeals, including special leave applications and original jurisdiction appeals; * 4 trials in New South Wales state jurisdiction. Dr. Donnelly’s expertise extends to esteemed forums such as Commonwealth Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committees, the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department, Commonwealth Joint Standing Committee on Migration, and inquiries led by figures like The Hon. I.D.F. Callinan AC KC. Beyond the courtroom, his diverse clientele includes high-ranking military officers, celebrities like Lanz Priestley, and international entertainers like Chris Brown, Skepta, and Sticky Fingers, among others Dr. Donnelly’s academic achievements include three university degrees, including a Ph.D. in law. Dr. Donnelly graduated with the prestigious university medal. He began as a university lecturer in law at 23 and became a barrister by 25. He now holds a senior university lecturer position at Western Sydney University, where he’s the Course Convenor and Founding Author of the Graduate Diploma in Australian Migration Law. He’s also an author and editor of prominent legal publications. His professional history includes roles as the Tipstaff to the Honorable Justice Peter McClellan AM QC, Chief Judge at Common Law, Supreme Court of New South Wales, and Legal Researcher to the Honorable Michael Kirby AC CMG, former Justice of the High Court of Australia. In legal academia, he’s authored numerous publications cited by various courts and Commonwealth Statutory Committees. Dr. Donnelly’s extensive body of work showcases his unwavering dedication and exceptional expertise in administrative and migration law.


Mr. William Ward, Partner, Mills Oakley
Will Ward is accredited by the NSW Law Society as a specialist in employment and industrial relations law and is a Special Counsel in our employment, workplace relations and safety team. With over 17 years of experience in employment and workplace relations Will has advised clients in almost all industries as well as the public sector. Will's knowledge and expertise in the area is further bolstered by the fact that he was a university lecturer in employment, human resource management and industrial relations for 5 years prior to practicing as a lawyer for the last 12 years. As a result, Will has a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon in advising and achieving results for clients in all aspects of employment and workplace relations law.


Ms. 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.


Ms. Farhana Islam, Special Counsel, Maddocks
Farhana is a highly experienced government lawyer who advises Australian Government and State and Territory government agencies on administrative law, regulatory law and decision making, statutory interpretation, data and privacy. With over 10 years’ experience as an in-house counsel, including at the Senior Executive level, Farhana has a deep understanding of the sector and is able to infuse her legal advice with a unique perspective. Farhana has undertaken numerous high profile privacy impact assessments, including recently on the national disability data asset and the Digital ID Bill, has provided advice on complex dating sharing arrangements involving multi parties and helped entities develop robust privacy policies, privacy management plans and data breach response plans.


Mr. 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.


Ms. 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.


Mr. John Bird, Barrister, Blackburn Chambers
John has a diverse practice built on more than 20 years’ experience in global and national law firms. He is listed in Best Lawyers of Australia since 2021 for Government Practice and Public Law. He is recommended in Doyles Guide for commercial litigation. John was called to the bar in 2020. His practice focuses on commercial litigation and public law (Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory). In the Commonwealth sphere, he has acted for a wide variety of Ministers and agencies under multiple statutory schemes canvassing both merits and judicial review of administrative action, complex commercial disputes, and civil claims. In the Territory, he acts in planning matters, building rectification order matters, property (including strata and commercial leasing) disputes, and contract and equitable claims.