Upcoming events and opportunities
Read our monthly round up of upcoming public law events and opportunities, including conferences, seminars and calls for papers
If you have an AUSPUBLAW opportunity, conference or significant public lecture that you would like included in this roundup, please contact us at auspublaw@unsw.edu.au. The roundup is published once a month by the first business day of the month, so please let us know in time for that deadline.
We would firstly like to draw your attention to the following event:
23 October 2025
Building bridges: Advancing refugee protection in a divided world
Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, University of New South Wales
Conference date and time: 23 October 2025, 9am-5pm
Conference location: John Niland Scientia Building (G19), UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW
The 2025 Kaldor Centre Conference, 'Building bridges: Advancing refugee protection in a divided world', brings together policymakers, practitioners, scholars, civil society and people with lived experience of displacement – to ask the hard questions, share expertise and build practical solutions.
This event focuses on building bridges – across sectors, communities and disciplines – to strengthen refugee protection in Australia and globally.
In one full, energising day, we’ll explore:
How global political shifts, such as the US election, affect us all;
How to cultivate meaningful dialogue and counter misinformation in polarised and populist times;
How to bridge rhetoric and reality advancing meaningful refuge participation;
What’s needed to sustain protection as funding for UNHCR and other organisations collapse;
How refugee protection fits within broader human rights struggles.
Confirmed speakers include:
Dr Jeff Crisp, Visiting Research Fellow, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Hugh de Kretser, President, Australian Human Rights Commission
Dr Renee Dixson, Executive Director, Forcibly Displaced People Network
Professor Daniel Ghezelbash, Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law
This is a paid event. For more information, and to register, click here.
Competitions, calls for papers and scholarships
1 October 2025
Human Rights Law Essay Prize
Human Rights Law Association
Entries close: 1 October 2025
The Human Rights Law Essay Prize is awarded annually to the applicant who produces the most original essay (up to 8,000 words) on human rights in Australia and/or New Zealand, having previously submitted the essay for assessment to an Australian or New Zealand university.
The recipient of the Human Rights Law Essay Prize will be selected by a judging panel appointed by the committee of the Human Rights Law Association. The winner will be announced close to Human Rights Week in December and will receive a prize of $1000.
Fill in the application form here and send it together with a Word or PDF copy of your essay to admin@hrla.net with the subject line ‘Human Rights Law Essay Prize submission’ by 1 October 2025.
For more information, click here.
1 November 2025
Call for Papers: 6th Annual Symposium on Jurisprudence and Theology
Australian National University Law School
CfP closes: 1 November 2025
It is often thought that modern analytic jurisprudence has left theology behind. Think again. Consider the following quote from the Hart-land of jurisprudence:
If men are not devils, neither are they angels; and the fact that they are a mean between these two extremes is something which makes a system of mutual forbearances both necessary and possible. With angels, never tempted to harm others, rules requiring forbearances would not be necessary. With devils prepared to destroy, reckless of the cost to themselves, they would be impossible. (HLA Hart, The Concept of Law, 196)
Neither angels nor demons would have the kind of legal system that we have. Law is situated precariously between heaven and hell. This jurisprudential insight is dripping with theological speculation. It seems that jurisprudence is not done with theology yet.
We welcome papers that explore the intersection of jurisprudence and theology from diverse interdisciplinary perspectives, from all faith traditions and none, and from both faculty members and postgraduate students.
Please submit your abstracts (100-200 words) with your name and institutional affiliation to A/Prof Joshua Neoh (joshua.neoh@anu.edu.au) before 1 November 2025.
For more information, click here.
Conferences and seminars
2 September 2025
What’s wrong with AI judges?
Australian Academy of Law
Date: 2 September 2025
Time: 5.15-6.45pm (AEST)
Location: Hybrid - In-person at Level 13, Supreme Court of NSW, Courts Building, Queens Square, Sydney and Online
In this free public event, Professor John Tasioulas, Director of the Institute for Ethics in AI, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford and Senior Research Fellow, Balliol College, will speak on ‘What’s wrong with AI judges?’
The event will be chaired by The Hon Alan Robertson AM SC, President of the Australian Academy of Law.
There will also be commentary by a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, followed by a Q&A session.
For more information, and to register, click here.
2 September 2025
Australia, International Law and Armed Conflict: Issues for the 48th Parliament
Australian National University Law School
Date: 2 September 2025
Time: 6.30-8.00pm (AEST)
Location: Law Theatre, 5 Fellows Rd, Acton ACT, Australia
Parliamentarians are making decisions today that will define Australia’s compliance with international law in years ahead. From sanctions and arms exports to humanitarian aid and recognition of states, choices in this term carry real legal and political consequences.
Join leading jurists and international law experts for a concise, high-level briefing on Australia’s obligations in overseas conflicts — and the risks, responsibilities, and opportunities for parliamentary leadership.
This event is co-hosted by Law Reform and Social Justice and Amnesty International. All welcome.
Speakers:
Adjunct Professor Chris Sidoti, leading human rights advocate and legal expert
Professor Emily Crawford, internationally recognised expert in international law at Sydney Law School
For more information, and to register, click here.
3 September 2025
Law, War and Letter Writing: ANZSIL Seminar
Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL)
Date: 3 September 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Online
This online seminar will provide an opportunity to engage with the authors of the prize winning article, ‘Law, War and Letter Writing’, published in (2025) 35 European Journal of International Law 577.
In ‘Law, War and Letter Writing’, Madelaine Chiam, Monique Cormier and Anna Hood highlight that when (some) international crises arise, it has become common for lawyers to respond by penning open letters that call out violations of international law and call on governments, international organizations or civil society to take a suite of actions.
Drawing on open letters that were written in the first three months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and the first three months of the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2023, the authors contend that there are three main purposes embedded in these letters: advocacy, solidarity and public education.
Speakers: Madelaine Chiam, Monique Cormier and Anna Hood
Chair: Alison Duxbury
For more information, and to register, click here.
3 September 2025
Contemporary Issues in the Australian Legal System
The Bar Association of Queensland
Date: 3 September 2025
Time: 5.00-7.15pm (AEST)
Location: TBA
The Hon Justice Stephen Gageler will present his thoughts on contemporary challenges faced by the Australian Legal System. The event will be chaired by the Hon Chief Justice Helen Bowskill, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The floor will be open for questions and discussion.
Registration: 5 - 5.15pm
Seminar: 5.15 - 6.45pm
Drinks: 6.45 - 7.15pm
For more information, and to register, click here.
3 September 2025
Getting your Act together: Some reflections on making valid and effective legislation
Australian Association of Constitutional Law (AACL)
Date: 3 September 2025
Time: 5.30-6.30pm (AEST)
Location: Hybrid - In-person at Australian Government Solicitor, Level 5, 2-4 National Circuit, Barton, ACT and Online
The AACL is delighted to welcome Robert Orr PSM KC and Guy Aitken KC to speak on Wednesday 3 September 2025, 5:30pm-6:30pm on 'Getting your Act together: Some reflections on making valid and effective legislation'.
This is an in-person event which will also be live-streamed. For those attending in person, some nibbles and drinks will be available after the seminar, so we would be grateful if you could please register your attendance in advance, if possible.
For more information, and to register, click here.
4 September 2025
Language in Belgian administrative law
Australian National University College of Law, Governance & Policy
Date: 4 September 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Building 7, Law School, Room 7.4.1, Phillipa Weeks Library, ANU
Visitors Seminar
The speaker is Professor David Renders, UCLouvain, current director of the Centre Montesquieu d’études de l’action publique, the honorary president of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Legal and Criminological Sciences (2023 to 2024) and the honorary vice-dean of the Faculty of Law and Criminology in charge of relations with professional circles (2009 to 2012 and 2020 to 2023). He teaches general administrative law, administrative litigation, public policy law and administrative law in relation to European integration and is the author or co-author of more than three hundred books and contributions published in Europe, Canada, Brazil and Japan.
For more information, and to register, click here.
4 September 2025
The General Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Theory and Practice
Australian National University Law School
Date: 4 September 2025
Time: 3.00-4.30pm (AEST)
Location: Philippa Weeks Library, Building 7, Law School, Room 7.4.1, ANU
Join Dr Marie Joseph Ayissi, the Secretary for the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (WGEPAD), to discuss The General Recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Theory and Practice.
This event is jointly hosted by the Centre for International and Public Law, ANU Law School and Professor Bina D’Costa, Department of International Relations, Coral Bell School and Chair of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.
For more information, and to register, click here.
5 September 2025
Sisters-in-law: Australian Parliament's important role in advancing gender equality
Procedure and Research Section, Department of the Senate
Date: 5 September 2025
Time: 12.15-1.15pm (AEST)
Location: Theatre, Parliament House
President’s lecture
Goodwill and gradual attitudinal change about the role of women in our society is not sufficient to achieve gender equality. In this lecture Kate Jenkins will discuss how the Australian Parliament has played a vital role over the last 50 years in turning that momentum for social change into enforceable laws that are globally recognised as effective and leading.
For more information, and to register, click here.
10 September 2025
Climate Law & Litigation in Australia
UNSW’s Institute for Climate Risk and Response; Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession (Law & Justice UNSW)
Date: 10 September 2025
Time: 4.30-6.00pm (AEST)
Location: UNSW CBD Campus, NSW
Climate litigation is on the rise globally and emerging as a powerful tool to advance climate action and accountability for climate harms. This trend has been steady in Australia, with governments and private sector entities being increasingly challenged in Court by NGOs, private individuals (including shareholders) and corporate regulators.
Although many cases put forward innovative legal arguments, a large number have been unsuccessful. This raises important questions about the strategic role and implications of climate litigation in Australia for Government, corporations, NGOs and civil society more broadly.
What role does (and should) the law play in promoting climate justice and our transition to net zero? Is climate litigation really advancing climate accountability, or is it being used as an arena for climate activism? If the latter, is that really a problem?
Join us as we hear from our chair Dr Riona Moodley (Institute of Climate Risk and Response / Law & Justice, UNSW) and panel of speakers, including:
Professor Jacqueline Peel, Director, Melbourne’s Climate Futures
Professor Michael Legg, Director, Centre for the Future of the Legal Profession (UNSW)
Jennifer Balding, Partner, Viridis Legal
Ben Phi, Managing Director, Phi Finney McDonald
Beau Deleuil, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Maria Nawaz, General Counsel, Grata Fund
This is a paid event. For more information, and to register, click here.
10 September 2025
Is the pursuit of diversity and inclusion dead?
Australian Human Rights Institute, University of New South Wales
Date: 10 September 2025
Time: 6.00-7.30pm (AEST)
Location: Meers Hall, North Building, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Rd, Sydney
The Australian Human Rights Institute will launch its new, annual event series in September 2025 with a provocative discussion about the future of diversity and inclusion as core values in our society.
Does the purge of diversity and inclusion initiatives in the United States and tectonic shifts in global politics signal the death knell for dreams of a more equal society here in Australia? As corporations shy away from social causes and governments become less ambitious about effecting change, how do we provide opportunity for all – not just in work but in society at large – and ensure the voices of those most in need are being heard?
Speakers:
Hugh de Kretser, President, Australian Human Rights Commission
Sally Sitou MP, Federal Member for Reid
Nareen Young, Associate Dean, Indigenous Engagement and Leadership, Business School, University of Technology Sydney
Nick Bryant, author and foreign correspondent
Justine Nolan, Director, Australian Human Rights Institute
David Gonski AC, Chancellor, University of New South Wales
This is a paid event, however tickets are free for UNSW students. For more information, and to register, click here.
10 September 2025
From Hamburg to The Hague: Climate Change, Advisory Opinions and the Call of Small Island States
Melbourne Law School
Date: 10 September 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEST)
Location: Law G08, Law Building (106), Melbourne Law School
2025 Sir Kenneth Bailey Memorial Lecture
In recent years, the world’s highest judicial bodies—the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—have been asked to clarify the obligations of States in responding to the climate crisis. Their advisory opinions represent a significant development in international jurisprudence, shaping how customary international law, the law of the sea, and human rights norms intersect with climate obligations.
In honour of Sir Kenneth Bailey’s work in international law, HE Dr Eselealofa Apinelu argues that advisory opinions, while not binding, carry profound normative authority and may chart new pathways for climate justice and international cooperation in an era of urgent planetary crisis. In particular, this lecture will focus on how small island states including Tuvalu, drew on the international law Advisory Opinion processes to confront climate change and its impacts on small island states. The lecture will also explore the legal reasoning and implications of the twin opinions of ITLOS and ICJ, examining how they address questions of State responsibility, human rights, intergenerational equity, and the protection of the marine environment in the face of rising seas and escalating climate impacts.
HE Dr Eselealofa Apinelu is the High Commissioner of Tuvalu to Fiji and Secretary General of the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law.
For more information, and to register, click here.
11-12 September 2025
The Racial Discrimination Act at 50
Australian National University Law School
Date: 11-12 September 2025
Location: Phillipa Weeks Staff Library, ANU School of Law, 4th Floor, Building 7, 5 Fellows Road, Canberra
This two-day symposium brings together leading experts from Australia and abroad to reflect on fifty years of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. Organised by ANU Emerita Professor Margaret Thornton FASSA FAAL and Distinguished Professor Asmi Wood, the program features speakers from ANU, Monash, UNSW, the University of Sydney, and the University of Helsinki.
Session topics include:
Constitutionalism
Legislation
Images of multiculturalism
The limits of equality
Race and employment
Intersectionality
Speakers include:
Associate Professor Hannah McGlade, Curtin University & Professor Megan Davis AC, University of New South Wales
Associate Professor Harry Hobbs, University of New South Wales
Dr Liz Allen, Australian National University
Professor Dominique Allen, Monash University
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 September 2025
Trans Pathologisation as Torture: Queering identity in “Breaking of the will”
Institute for International Law and the Humanities (IILAH), University of Melbourne
Date: 11 September 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Room 831, Level 8, Melbourne Law School
Please join the Institute for International Law and the Humanities for a lunchtime seminar presented by Matteo Bassetti, PhD Visiting Scholar (Essex Law School), chaired by Professor Dianne Otto (MLS).
In Matteo’s doctoral research they argue that the institutional pathologisation of trans people may amount to torture. In this presentation Matteo will analyse how the concepts of ‘disruption/obliteration of identity’ and ‘breaking of the will’ of victims of torture are often rooted in cisnormative, stable understandings of identity. Institutional pathologisation often leads to the internalisation of negative, pathologising self-beliefs by trans and non-binary people. Queering the concept of (gender) identity, Matteo explores how the forceful imposition of normative beliefs about gender disrupts trans people’s sense of self and provokes severe pain or suffering amounting to torture.
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 September 2025
International Headwinds, New Technology and Social Justice
University of Technology Sydney
Date: 11 September 2025
Time: 5.30-8.00pm (AEST)
Location: City campus, UTS Central, Building 2 Foyer (Ground Level), 15 Broadway, Ultimo NSW
Can Australia be courageous in regulation of new technology while navigating international uncertainty and constant change?
Our expert panellists, including Raymond Sun (Senior associate, Technology, HSF Kramer), Miah Hammond-Errey (Founding CEO, Strat Futures Pty Limited), Sophie Farthing (Responsible Technology Program Lead, UTS’s Human Technology Institute) and Louise Buckingham (CEO, Arts Law Centre of Australia), will consider this issue and discuss how recent international policy upheaval could shape Australian responses to regulation of new technologies, including artificial intelligence. With a renewed focus by the Australian government on the way regulation of technology impacts productivity, a key unresolved question is how these national and international developments will impact social justice and human-centered regulation of technology.
Critical concerns include rights to privacy, cybersecurity and the growing digital divide for vulnerable populations.
5.30pm: Registrations open, networking & refreshments
6.00pm: Event commences
7.00pm: Networking and refreshments
8.00pm: Event concludes
For more information, and to register, click here.
11 September 2025
2025 James Merralls Fellowship in Law Lecture - Sydney
Melbourne Law School
Date: 11 September 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEST)
Location: Sydney Law School
The Case for Cancelling Cancel Culture - presented by Sue Chrysanthou SC
Please join us for pre-event refreshments from 5:30pm.
Cancel culture is the antithesis of reasoned, structured persuasion.
Unlike legal argument, and unlike traditional academic discourse, it seeks to traduce rather than to debate. It is a substantially modern phenomenon which infiltrates and undermines public and academic discussion and learning.
Cancel culture is not merely immature but infantile; it eschews rationality in favour of the mentality of the mob, using modern technology to do so. In contrast to historical punishments like ostracism and exile, it proceeds in an uncontrolled way, and often mistakes mere allegation for proved guilt.
It is fundamentally corrosive and ought to have no place in academic or public life.
For more information, and to register, click here.
15 September 2025
Externalising Protection? Transnational Asylum and the future of International Refugee Law
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, University of Melbourne
Date: 15 September 2025
Time: 4.00-5.00pm (AEST)
Location: Room 317, Law Building (106), University of Melbourne
The Institute for International Law and the Humanities and the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness are co-hosting a book launch of Dr Nikolas Feith Tan’s monograph, Transnational Asylum: Toward a Principled Framework (Routledge, 2025).
The book presents the original framework of transnational asylum to inform future cooperation between states on asylum processing and refugee protection, including a blueprint for how existing policies of deterrence and externalisation can be retooled to share, rather than shift, responsibility for refugees.
Following a welcome from Professor Michelle Foster, Dean of Melbourne Law School, the book launch will feature a discussion of the book between Professor Hélène Lambert, Director of the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, and Dr Tan. This conversation will be followed by an intervention from Rebecca Eckard, Director of Policy and Research at the Refugee Council of Australia and a Q&A. The seminar will conclude with refreshments.
For more information, and to register, click here.
16 September 2025
How to research international human rights
Human Rights Law Association
Date: 16 September 2025
Time: 5.00-6.00pm (AEST)
Location: Online
In determining the scope of the human rights set out in the human rights Act in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, it is legitimate to look at what courts and treaty-monitoring bodies around the world have said about the scope of equivalent human rights.
In this practical guide, Kent Blore and Sean Costello will step through how to research the scope of international human rights, using publicly available resources, focusing on human rights materials from the United Nations, Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa.
For more information, and to register, click here.
18 September 2025
Repair and Retrenchment: Navigating Emotions and Conflicts Across LGBT Rights and Reforms
Australian National University College of Law, Governance & Policy
Date: 18 September 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Building 7, Law School, Room 7.4.1, Phillipa Weeks Library, ANU
Visitors Seminar
Emotions are central to the pursuit, organisation, and contestation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in law. This seminar explores emotions that shape conflicts of rights that emerge between different groups across law reforms aimed at better supporting LGBT people. Specifically, Dr Senthorun Raj (Associate Professor of Human Rights Law at Manchester Law School) considers the emotional dynamics that underscore contemporary law reform debates about religious exceptions to anti-discrimination laws, legal gender recognition, bans on “conversion therapy,” and sex and LGBT education in schools from jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
Drawing from critical legal theories that span Law & Emotion, Queer, Feminist, and Critical Race scholarship, this talk will consider the concept of “emotional grammar” to show how emotions structure law reform pursuits by threading together Hansard, legislation, case law, law reform consultations, and statutory guidance. By doing so, Dr Raj will reflect on why addressing this emotional grammar is important for scholars, lawyers, judges, legislators, and activists seeking to navigate conflicts over LGBT rights and reforms that aim to repair the inequalities faced by LGBT people during a time of hostility and retrenchment.
For more information, and to register, click here.
18 September 2025
2025 Wingarra Djuraliyin (Growth in Thinking): In-conversation with Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt
Sydney Law School
Date: 18 September 2025
Time: 6.00-8.00pm (AEST)
Location: Law Foyer, Level 2, New Law Building (F10), The University of Sydney, Camperdown
Join us for an inspiring evening reflecting on Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendts' remarkable legal career, advocating for the rights of First Nation's peoples across a range of mediums as a lawyer, storyteller, writer, director and filmmaker.
Join Professor Teela Reid, in this special conversation with Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt. Together we will view and discuss some of Larissa's iconic moments in her advocacy as we reimagine what it means to be a First Nations Lawyer in Australia.
Registration and refreshments start at 5.30pm. The in-conversation begins at 6pm.
For more information, and to register, click here.
18 September 2025
2025 Flos Greig Lecture - The International Rules-Based Order: Nostalgia or Blueprint for Global Peace?
Melbourne Law School
Date: 18 September 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEST)
Location: Woodward Conference Centre, Law Building (106), Melbourne Law School
Following the US’ recent bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, Australia’s acting shadow foreign affairs spokesman said the “world is governed by might and not right, and anyone who talks about this rules-based global order is really being nostalgic”.
Recent conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran – along with an unprecedented 123 million refugees seeking protection and global trade instability – are challenging the post-Second World War international regime that prohibits the acquisition of territory by force, promotes free trade and protects human rights.
Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs AC will examine whether international law remains an effective part of the’ rules-based order’ when, today, some political leaders explicitly deny fundamental norms, reject multilateral treaty obligations, and resort to unilateral policies. In short, is the United Nations Charter and the laws and institutions built upon it still fit for purpose?
Pre-lecture refreshments | 5:15pm - 6pm
Public Lecture | 6pm - 7pm
For more information, and to register, click here.
23 September 2025
The Expertise of Environmental Lawyers
Australian National University College of Law, Governance & Policy
Date: 23 September 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Building 7, Law School, Room 7.4.1, Phillipa Weeks Library, ANU
Visitors Seminar
Environmental law is often understood as a legally anomalous subject that doesn’t demand much in the way of conventional legal thought and doesn’t fit into the way law is normally classified. This presumption about the lack of fit of environmental law has resulted in a failure to recognise the legal work and legal expertise the subject involves. In this paper, building on a three year project that involves archive work in Australia, the US, and the UK, Professor Liz Fisher (Professor of Environmental Law in the Faculty of Law, Corpus Christi, College Oxford) shows the type of structural legal questions environmental law gives rise to, the dangers of wishful thinking, and the law jobs (and legal expertise) the subject requires.
For more information, and to register, click here.
25 September 2025
Hot topics in administrative law
Australian National University College of Law, Governance & Policy
Date: 25 September 2025
Time: 5.30-6.30pm (AEST)
Location: Ashurst, Level 8, 39 Martin Place Sydney NSW (note new Ashurst address)
The AIAL NSW Chapter is presenting a seminar on: Hot Topics in Administrative Law
Speakers:
The Hon Justice Kristina Stern, New South Wales Court of Appeal
Joanna Davidson, Sixth Floor Selborne Wentworth Chambers
Chair:
The Hon Acting Justice John Griffiths, New South Wales Court of Appeal.
Light refreshments available after the seminar.
For more information, and to register, click here.
13 October 2025
Democratising the SRC – Briefing for Teachers
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales
Date: 13 October 2025
Time: 3.00-4.00pm (AEST)
Location: Online
This webinar will be an opportunity for teachers to learn more about building democratic principles and civics education into the structure of their Students’ Representative Councils. Professor Rosalind Dixon from the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at UNSW, founder of the Democratising the SRC project, will walk you through different structuring options and the civics education rationale behind them, while teachers who have previously participated in the program will be available to offer practical tips and advice.
For more information, and to register, click here.
14 October 2025
Teaching Law in the GenAI Era
James Cook University
Date: 14 October 2025
Time: 2.20-3.30pm (AEST)
Location: Online
Discover how generative AI is transforming the landscape of higher legal education in this compelling session led by Dr Karnika Bansal from James Cook University. Drawing from her experience as a lecturer, Dr Bansal will explore the shifting role of educators, the integration of AI tools in teaching and assessment, and the critical challenges of maintaining academic integrity and fostering independent thinking. The presentation will also examine how legal curricula must evolve to prepare students for a profession deeply influenced by AI-driven change. Join us to gain valuable insights and stay informed about the innovations reshaping legal education today.
For more information, and to register, click here.
15 October 2025
The US Supreme Court and the 2024-25 Term
Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales
Date: 15 October 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Hybrid - In-person at UNSW Law & Justice (Building F8, Level 2, Adrian Cameron Room) and Online via Teams
The US Supreme Court has handed down a range of controversial decisions in recent months – including cases that go to the heart of President Trump’s power to reshape American constitutional law and democracy.
In this special seminar, the UNSW Gilbert +Tobin Centre of Public Law hosts Professor Amanda L. Tyler (Shannon Cecil Turner Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law) and Associate Professor David Smith (United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney) in conversation with Professor Rosalind Dixon (Anthony Mason Professor and Scientia Professor of Law, UNSW and Gilbert + Tobin Centre), to discuss these cases and their broader context and significance. The event is co-hosted by the UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
For more information, and to register, click here.
16 October 2025
The origins of contemporary judicial power in Papua New Guinea
Selden Society—Australian Chapter
Date: 16 October 2025
Time: 1.00-2.00pm (AEST)
Location: Level 3, Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, 415 George Street, Brisbane
The library on behalf of the Selden Society—Australian Chapter hosts an annual program of entertaining and informative lectures featuring prominent and renowned guest speakers covering a range of topics focused on legal heritage.
Speaker: The Hon Justice John Logan RFD, Federal Court of Australia.
The lectures are free to attend and will also be livestreamed.
For more information, click here.
16 October 2025
The Olympics and human rights
Human Rights Law Association
Date: 16 October 2025
Time: 5.15-6.30pm (AEST)
Location: Hybrid - Online or in-person (in-person venue to be confirmed closer to the date)
The Olympic Games throw up multiple human rights issues, including the lack of human rights accountability for the IOC, the working conditions of people who build stadiums, and the displacement of people from their homes to make way for new sporting venues. In this seminar, Professor Sarah Joseph will explore human rights issues and opportunities presented by the Olympic Games as Brisbane begins preparations for Brisbane 2032.
For more information, and to register, click here.
29 October 2025
Webinar: Deliberative Rights Theory special issue
ICON•S Aus/NZ Theory Group
Date: 29 October 2025
Time: 5.30-7.00pm (AEDT)
Location: Online
Join the online launch of the coming Federal Law Review issue on new deliberative democratic approaches to rights adjudication. The emerging literature of ‘deliberative rights theory’ borrows methods from deliberative democracy to address complex and contentious rights cases. A host of authors have overtly or implicitly laid groundwork for a deliberative rights theory. But deliberative rights theory still lags as a coherent body of ideals and institutional methods. This special issue offers a wide focus on the emerging field and seeks to establish its contours.
Q&A discussion will follow after short presentations of Deliberative Rights Theory articles:
The Deliberative Democratic Turn In Human Rights – Professor Ron Levy, Australian National University
Mini-Public Adjudication of Human Rights Disputes: An Empirical Evaluation – Professor Kate Ogg, Australian National University (presenting a paper also by Henry Palmerlee)
Deliberative Judicial Review – Dr Ignacio Giuffré, Victoria University of Wellington
Federalism Rights – Associate Professor Scott Stephenson, University of Melbourne
Adjudicating Human Rights: Bounded Deliberative Democracy – Professor Sandra Fredman, Oxford
Chair: Professor Sandra Fredman, FBA KC hon, Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub, Oxford University, and Fellow of Pembroke College.
For more information, and to register, click here.
30 October 2025
A Second Chamber for the Queensland Parliament: Four Reasons, Four Features and Four Design Principles
The Bar Association of Queensland
Date: 30 October 2025
Time: 6.15-7.45pm (AEST)
Location: TBA
The speaker will present four arguments for the restoration of an elected second chamber in Queensland and propose four corresponding qualities that such a chamber should possess. These four arguments and four features concern: (1) better democratic representation, (2) enhanced public deliberation, (3) improved legislative procedures, and (4) increased scrutiny of government. In doing so, the paper will consider four key principles of constitutional design, namely democratic legitimacy, effective governance, the separation of powers, and government accountability.
Chair: The Hon Justice John Bond, Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland
Speaker: Professor Nicholas Aroney, University of Queensland
Commentator: Mr Neil Laurie LLB LLM (HONS) MBA, Clerk of the Parliament (Queensland)
Registration: 5 - 5.15pm
Seminar: 5.15 - 6.45pm
Drinks: 6.45 - 7.15pm
For more information, and to register, click here.
31 October 2025
2025 Mayo Lecture
James Cook University
Date: 31 October 2025
Time: 6.00-7.00pm (AEST)
Location: Bebegu Yumba Campus in Douglas, Townsville
The Hon Susan Brown (Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland) delivers the 2025 Mayo Lecture on how the legal system must adapt and lead through technological disruption and evolving public perceptions of justice.
For more information, and to register, click here.
19-21 November 2025
2025 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education Annual Conference
Monash University Faculty of Law
Date: 19-21 November 2025
Location: Monash University Law Chambers, Melbourne
The theme of IJCLE 2025 is Navigating Global Challenges in Clinical Legal Education: Innovating for the Future.
The first day of IJCLE will feature a number of workshops focused on building the skills clinical teachers need for their work with students, clients and colleagues. These skills include supervision, reflective practice, assessment, feedback and scaffolding student learning.
Days 2 and 3 will provide participants with opportunities to engage with multiple issues related to climate justice, the impact of technology and AI, access to rights and justice, along with enhancing regional and global collaboration. There will be publication-themed sessions including a writing workshop mini retreat designed to encourage clinical scholarship and research collaborations.
There is a fee for this event. For more information, and to register, click here.
24-25 November 2025
Legal Education Research Conference: The Crowded Curriculum
University of New South Wales Law & Justice
Date: 24-25 November 2025
Location: UNSW Law & Justice, Kensington Campus
In today's fast-paced world, law schools face the complex challenge of balancing an already crowded curriculum with the evolving demands of the legal profession. Accrediting bodies mandate that law degrees cover an array of prescribed knowledge areas. The legal profession demands graduates with substantive legal knowledge who are adept at research. All professions require graduates with a range of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, including communication, reasoning, negotiation, networking and teamwork. There has been a documented increase in the volume and complexity of laws and there are new theories, under-represented perspectives and novel proposals to consider. Students are increasingly expected to be proficient in emerging technologies that are becoming integral to practice and need to be prepared for a world in which significant change is likely. All the while, educators are trying to engage students in the context of a competitive attention economy.
It is unsurprising that laws schools are struggling with the challenge of updating curriculum to address new needs, without sacrificing depth or quality, while providing opportunities to develop skills and reflect on values. Navigating this process requires creativity, balance and great care.
For more information, and to register, click here.
6 December 2025
In-Person Symposium: Judicial Independence in Australia - Looking Forward, Ten Years On
Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of Queensland
Date: 6 December 2025
Time: 9.00am-5.00pm (AEST)
Location: T. C. Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland
Ten years after the publication of Judicial Independence in Australia: Contemporary Challenges, Future Directions (Federation Press, 2016), the landscape of judicial independence has radically changed. The time is ripe for a new edited collection taking stock of these changes and looking to the future.
The symposium will bring together leading scholars, judges and lawyers to discuss the nature and importance of judicial independence in Australia, and to debate current and future challenges.
For more information, click here.