National Lecture on Administrative Law

2023 National Lectures on Administrative Law

The 2023 National Lecture was presented by Bret Walker AO SC at the Adelaide Convention Centre, SA on 27 July 2023 as part of the AIAL National Law Conference. This conference was organised by the South Australian Chapter.

2022 National Lectures on Administrative Law

In 2022 were a series of National Lectures on the broad theme of the future of administrative law.

The first lecture in the series was presented by Justice Stephen Gageler on 1 June 2022 in Sydney and online :National Lecture by Justice Stephen Gageler in Sydney and online

The second lecture in the series was presented by Emerita Professor Robin Creyke, AO  on 2 November 2022 online: The future of administrative law: Tribunals

The third lecture in the series was presented by Professor John McMllan AO on 18 October 2023 in Canberra and online: The Ombudsman in Australia

Lectures one and two are published in AIAL Forum No. 107 and the third lecture is published in AIAL Forum No. 109.

2021 National Lecture  on Administrative Law

The 2021  National Lecture was presented by Professor Matthew Groves at the 2021 National Conference which was held online and organised by the Victorian chapter.

2019 National Lecture on Administrative Law

The 2019 National Lecture on Administrative Law was presented by the Hon Justice David Thomas, President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal , at the Hotel Realm,  Canberra, at 5.pm on Thursday 18 July 2019 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The lecture is now published as ‘Contemporary challenges in merits review: The AAT in a changing Australia’ in (2019) 96 AIAL Forum 1.

2018 National Lecture on Administrative Law

The 2018 National Lecture on Administrative Law was presented by the Hon. Margaret Beazley AO, President, NSW Court of Appeal, at 5.00pm on Thursday 27 September, 2018, at the Law School, University of NSW, Kensington ,Sydney as part of the 2018 National Administrative Law Conference. The lecture is now published as “Administrative Law and Statutory Interpretation: Room for the Rule of Law?” in (2018) AIAL Forum 1.

2017 National Lecture in Administrative Law

The Tenth National Lecture was presented by Peter Hanks QC at the Hotel Realm, Canberra on 20 July 2017 at the 2017 AIAL National Conference on Administrative Law. The Lecture, “Administrative Law and Welfare Rights: A 40-year story from Green v Daniels to ‘Robot debt recovery’”, is published in AIAL Forum No. 89.

2016 National Lecture on Administrative Law

The 2016 National Lecture on Administrative Law, Not Making a Difference: Queensland’s Extension of Statutory Review, was presented by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the Hon Justice Catherine Holmes, at the 2016 National Conference in Brisbane on 21 July 2016.  The lecture is published in AIAL Forum No. 85.

2015 National Lecture on Administrative Law

The eighth National Lecture on Administrative Law, Statutory Interpretation and Rationality in Administrative Law, was presented by the Chief Justice of Australia, the Hon Robert French AC, at the QT Hotel, Canberra at 5.30pm on Thursday 23 July 2015 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The lecture is published in AIAL Forum No. 82.

Previous national lecture information

The National Lecture on Administrative Law is sponsored by AIAL. The National Lecture series was established in 2001 as part of AIAL’s objective of promoting the study of administrative law on a national and integrated basis. The National Lecture is currently given annually as part of the National Conference.

The inaugural National Lecture series in 2001 was presented by former Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE. Lectures were held in Perth, Canberra and Sydney. Sir Anthony Mason’s lectures were entitled The Foundations and the Limitations of Judicial Review, The Scope of Judicial Review and Australian Administrative Law Compared with Overseas Models of Administrative Law.

The second National Lecture series in 2004 was delivered by Justice J J Spigelman AC, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and had an integrity theme. Lectures were held in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane. The lectures were entitled The Integrity Branch of Government, Jurisdiction and Integrity, and  Integrity and Privative Clauses.

The third national lecture series in 2006 was delivered by the Solicitors-General of Queensland, New South Wales and the Commonwealth. It involved lectures by:

• Walter Sofronov QC on “The Constitutional Writs” at the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Queensland, Brisbane on 29 August 2006
• Michael Sexton SC on “Administrative Law, The New South Wales Landscape” at the Banco Court, Supreme Court Building, Sydney on 30 August 2006, and
• David Bennett QC on “Is Natural Justice Becoming More Rigid than Traditional Justice?” at the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, Melbourne on 13 September 2006.

The 2011 National Lecture on Administrative Law, Democracy, Participation and Administrative Law, was presented by the Hon. Patrick Keane, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia on Thursday 21 July 2011 at the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference at the Hotel Realm, Canberra. The National Lecture is published in AIAL Forum 68 (February 2012) (383 Kb) .

The 2012 National Lecture on Administrative Law, A Fourth Branch of Government?, was presented by the Honorable Justice William Gummow AC at the National Wine Centre, Adelaide on Thursday 19 July 2012 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The National Lecture is published in AIAL Forum 70 (October 2012) (4 Mb) .

The 2013 National Lecture on Administrative Law was presented by The Right Honourable Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand, at the Hotel Realm, Barton at 5.00pm on Thursday 18 July 2013 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The National Lecture is published in  AIAL Forum 74 (October 2013) (2 Mb) .

The 2014 National Lecture on Administrative Law, Peripheral Vision? Judicial Review in Australia, was presented by the Hon Wayne Martin AC, Chief Justice of WA at the University Club of WA at 5.00pm on Thursday 24 July 2014 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The Lecture is published in AIAL Forum 78 (November 2014) (6 Mb) .