6 St James Hall Chambers

6 St James Hall Chambers congratulates Madeleine Bridgett on her appointment as a part-time Lawyer member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal commencing in September 2024. Madeleine Bridgett is a human rights, public law and commercial law barrister. Madeleine has specialised knowledge in trauma-informed practice, mental health, drug and alcohol, child protection, domestic and family violence, and sexual assault. Having served almost three years as Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, Madeleine continues her work in the area of mental health in her new appointment as well as her practice as a Barrister in the areas of human rights, public law and commercial law. Congratulations Madeleine!

Doyles Guide have released their 2024 listing of leading Australian Arbitration Barristers. Congratulations to Dr Christopher Ward SC who has been recognised in this listing. Dr Ward SC is an advocate before trial courts, appellate courts and arbitral tribunals.  He has a multidisciplinary international practice as Senior Counsel and works in all aspects of public and private international law,  administrative and governmental disputes.  Enquiries regarding availability, urgency, time commitments and fees can be made to his Clerk and Practice Manger, Nora Faulua. https://lnkd.in/gVdrd9QR

The Full Court has held by a majority (Thawley and Stewart JJ) that where a decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority is quashed, both the Minister's duty in s 473CA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Secretary's duty in s 473CB must be re-performed, such that the Secretary is obliged to give to the Authority new country information and other relevant material that has come into the Secretary's possession or control since the matter was originally referred to the Authority. Richard Reynolds counsel of 6 St James Hall Chambers, led by Ben Mostafa, appeared for the successful Appellant. Please click below to read the full judgment.

NSW Court of Appeal on COVID-19 public health orders and frustration of leases Jennifer Mee appeared for the respondent landlords in the NSW Court of Appeal in successfully defending an appeal brought by the guarantors of a tenant claiming that the lease had been frustrated due to the COVID-19 public health orders.   The Court clarified the operation of the doctrine of frustration, both generally and as it may apply to leases. Among other things, express clauses regarding allocation of risk, such as a statement that the use and occupation is at the tenant’s own risk, may preclude a finding of frustration. Clauses requiring operation during specified hours are not generally to be construed as requiring operations contrary to law. Reasons for judgment can be found on the link below. https://lnkd.in/gTumNUke

The Full Federal Court of Australia yesterday allowed an appeal brought by a judgment creditor against a decision that a bankruptcy notice be set aside. The decision is significant in terms of the requirements for a complying bankruptcy notice, and what constitutes a formal defect or irregularity, particularly in the context of judgment debts involving the conversion of foreign currency. In their decision, the Full Federal Court accepted the appellant’s submissions that it should depart from previous Federal Court authority.   Jennifer Mee appeared for the successful appellant. Please click the link below to read the full judgment. https://lnkd.in/gi3Qgh5X

6 St James Hall welcomes Timothy Maybury. Tim practises in the areas of commercial law, public and private international law, criminal law, public and administrative law, native title and civil litigation. Prior to coming to the bar, Tim practised as a Senior Lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor, as a Senior Associate with Piper Alderman and as a Senior Federal Prosecutor with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.    Please contact our Clerk and Practice Manager, Nora Faulua for Tim’s availability and rates.    Welcome to the floor Tim!

The Federal Court of Australia upheld the Fair Work Ombudsman’s prosecution of a Canberra Massage Parlour for multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) for underpayments, cash backs, subjecting workers to coercion, race discrimination, unauthorised deductions, and record keeping breaches. The Court found the Massage Parlour deliberately recruited workers from the Philippines to exploit them. The Fair Work Ombudsman welcomed the Court’s recent imposition of significant total penalties, which have been the third highest issued in the regulator’s history.   Michael Seck and Bronwyn Byrnes appeared for the applicant, The Fair Work Ombudsman. Please click the link below to read the full judgment. https://lnkd.in/gsGH5pFB

Dr Christopher Ward SC and Madeleine Bridgett appeared for the successful applicant in a habeas corpus application made on an urgent basis to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The Court found that the applicant’s immigration detention was unlawful and ordered the immediate release of the applicant. This case considers the effect of the judgments in Chu Kheng Lim v The Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs (1992) 176 CLR 1 and NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 37, including the scope of the constitutional limit to lawfully detain. The Court concludes that the relevant principle in Lim as espoused in NZYQ applies. The judgment can be found on the link below. https://lnkd.in/gswJUfib

AI cannot be an inventor: Thaler litigation update by 6 St James Hall barrister, Andrew Horne was recently published in the The Law Society of NSW Journal.   The article provides an analysis of Thaler v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2023] UKSC 49 in which the UK Supreme Court found that an artificial intelligence system cannot be an ‘inventor’ for purposes of being granted a patent and how that decision might have implications for future Australian proceedings in which that issue is raised.   Click the link below for a preview to this article. https://lnkd.in/gHRXKtgm

6 St James Hall members, Ian Neil SC, Michael Seck, Bronwyn Byrnes, Ken Brotherson, Maurice Baroni, Martin Watts and Prue Bindon have been individually recognised in their respective expert areas of law, Employment and Workplace Health and Safety by Doyle's Guide in their NSW and ACT 2024 rankings.   Our recognised counsel have extensive experience in providing strategic advice to public and private sector employers, unions and individuals and are also recognised experts in conducting workplace investigations. They appear throughout Australia in all courts, the Fair Work Commission, the Australian Human Rights Commission, as well as a wide range of tribunals and mediations.   Enquiries to retain any of our barristers including availability and urgency, can be discussed with the chambers’ Clerk and Practice Manager, Nora Faulua. A full list of rankings can be found on the link below. https://lnkd.in/gNUhpVy