National Lectures on Administrative Law
National Lectures on Administrative Law were established by the Australian Institute of Administrative Law in 2001. The Lectures are currently delivered annually at the National Conference by a prominent practitioners in the field of administrative law. The Lectures are one of the activities of the Institute which was set up in 1989 to promote knowledge of and interest in Australian administrative law.
The inaugural National Lecture series were presented by the Hon Sir Anthony Mason AC KBE, a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, and were delivered in 2001 through chapters of the Institute in Perth, Canberra and Sydney.
The second National Lecture series were presented by the Hon James J Spigelman AC, Chief Justice of New South Wales, and were delivered in 2004 through Chapters of the Institute in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.
The third National Lectures were delivered in Brisbane on 29 August 2006, in Sydney on 30 August 2006 and in Melbourne on 13 September 2006 respectively. The National Lecturers were three Solicitors-General, Mr Walter Sofronoff QC, Solicitor-General of Queensland, Mr Michael Sexton SC, Solicitor-General of New South Wales, and Mr David Bennett QC, Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth.
The fourth National Lecture was presented in Canberra by the Hon Patrick Keane, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia at the 2011 AIAL National Conference on Administrative Law. The National Lecture was entitled “Democracy, Participation and Administrative Law” and is published in AIAL Forum No 68.
The fifth National Lecture was presented by the Hon Justice William Gummow AC at the National Wine Centre, Adelaide at 5.30pm on Thursday 19 July 2012 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The Lecture is published in AIAL Forum No 70.
The sixth National Lecture was presented by the Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias, Chief Justice of New Zealand, at the Hotel Realm, Canberra at 5.30pm on Thursday 18 July 2013 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The Lecture is published in AIAL Forum No 74.
The seventh National Lecture was presented by the Hon Wayne Martin AC, Chief Justice of Western Australia, at the University Club of Western Australia, Perth at 5.00pm on Thursday 24 July 2014 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The Lecture is published in AIAL Forum No 78.
The eighth National Lecture on Administrative Law was presented by the Hon Robert French AC, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, at the QT Hotel, Canberra on Thursday 23 July 2015 as part of the AIAL National Administrative Law Conference. The Lecture is published in AIAL Forum No 82.
The ninth National Lecture was presented by the Hon Chief Justice Catherine Holmes of the Supreme Court, Queensland at the Royal International Convention Centre, the Brisbane Showgrounds on Thursday 21 July 2016 at the 2016 National Conference. This Lecture is published in AIAL Forum No. 85.
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.
The eleventh National Lecture was presented by the Hon Margaret Beazley, President of the NSW Court of Appeal on 27 September 2018 at the 2018 AIAL National Conference on Administrative Law. The Lecture, “Administrative Law and Statutory Interpretation: Room for the Rule of Law?” is published at (2018) 93 AIAL Forum 1.
The twelfth National Lecture was presented by the Hon Justice David Thomas, President of the AAT, at the 2019 National Conference on Administrative Law in Canberra. The Lecture ‘Contemporary challenges in merits review: The AAT in a changing Australia ‘ is published at (2019) 96 AIAL Forum 1.
The thirteenth National Lecture was presented by Professor Matthew Groves at the 2021 National Conference on Administrative Law which was conducted online, and organised by the Victorian chapter.
The fourteenth was a series of National Lectures on the broad theme of the future of administrative law. The first 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 series was presented by Emerita Professor Robin Creyke, AO on 2 November 2022 online: The future of administrative law: Tribunals and the third series was presented by Professor John McMillan AO on 18 October 2023 in Canberra and online : The Ombudsman in Australia. The first and second series are published in AIAL Forum No. 107 and the third series is published in AIAL Forum No. 109.
The fifteenth National Lecture was presented by Bret Walker AO SC at the 2023 National Conference on Administrative Law in Adelaide.