Inbrief
Admiralty and Maritime Users’ Group Meeting – 17 November 2025
The Federal Court of Australia invites members to attend a meeting of the Admiralty and Maritime Users’ Group on Monday, 17 November 2025. Click here for more information and to RSVP.
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Today: Law of War
Tuesday, 11 November – In person, 5-6pm
The President of the NSW Bar Association, Dominic Toomey SC, is pleased to chair a CPD on the “Law of War”.
The panel of speakers includes:
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Tomorrow: AIAL: In Conversation with the Hon John Basten AO KC
Presented by the Australian Institute of Administrative Law NSW Chapter.
Chair: The Hon Justice Rachel Pepper, Land and Environment Court of NSW
Speakers:
- The Hon John Basten AO KC
- The Hon...
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Tomorrow: Bench and Bar Lunch 2025
The annual Bench & Bar Lunch will be held at the Social Dining at Verandah (55-65 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW 2000) on Wednesday, 12 November 2025 from 12.30-2.00pm.
Tickets for the lunch are $50 per...
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Accessibility Suggestions Inbox
Have you ever been in the same court building or courtroom as a person with a disability? Did they struggle to hear, be heard, or otherwise engage in typical activities in court? Were they unable to...
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Tomorrow: FCFCOA: Ceremonial sitting to welcome her Honour Judge Amy McGowan
The Hon Chief Justice William Alstergren AO invites members to a ceremonial sitting to welcome her Honour Judge Amy McGowan to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2). The...
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Peteris Ginters Day
Professor Dominic Rowe, a brilliant neurologist who heads Macquarie University’s world leading Motor Neuron Disease Centre, calls MND ‘a brute of a disease’. In 2020, it took the life of...
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Walk around the Botanic Gardens every Monday at lunch time
Every Monday, the Bar Walking Group meets at the fountains in Martin Place, between Macquarie and Phillip Streets, for a brisk and stimulating walk around the Botanic Gardens. The walk caters for...
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Dog Day Out
The Wellbeing Committee invites barristers and their canine family members to attend Dog Day Out – a meeting and playdate for all barristers, judges, clerks and staff and their canine companions....
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2026 Bar Council Elections
The ballot for the 2026 Bar Council will close at 1.00pm on Thursday, 13 November 2025.
Members who are eligible to vote have been sent a link via email to the electronic voting platform. If you...
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Today – Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of The New South Wales Bar Association (ABN 18 526 414 014) will be held today at 5:00pm in the Common Room of the New South Wales Bar Association, Basement, Selborne...
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Joint media release: NSW Bar Association and Law Society of NSW
Legal profession unites for public inquiry into a NSW Human Rights Act
The two peak representative bodies for the NSW legal profession have united to support the establishment of a public inquiry...
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Today: 2025 Sir Maurice Byers Annual Lecture
The 2025 Sir Maurice Byers Annual Lecture will be delivered by John Sheahan KC on Thursday, 6 November 2025 at 5:15pm in the New South Wales Bar Association Common Room. The title of the lecture is...
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Upcoming CPDs
A list of upcoming CPDs can be found below. The complete CPD calendar can be found on the NSW Bar Association website here (member login required).
November
11 November: Law of War
25 November:...
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Emergency Childcare
To assist barristers with childcare responsibilities to manage court or other commitments when children are ill or regular care arrangements are unavailable, the Bar Association has created an...
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Vale: Malcolm Frederick Griffiths Batten (1942–2025)
Malcolm Batten passed away on 1 November 2025. He was called to the Bar in 1981, and was a founding member of both First Floor University Chambers and Henry Parkes Chambers, where he practised until...
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Today: Bar Book Club
The Bar Book Club meets on the first Tuesday of each month.
November’s book is "Is a River Alive?” by Robert Macfarlane. It is a non-fiction book that The Guardian describes as an...
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Today: Litigating With AI: Views From the Bench with Chief Justice Bell and Justice Shariff
Tuesday, 04 November – In person, 5-6pm
The use of AI in court has become a topical issue. Practitioners around Australia have been referred to regulatory bodies and disciplined for failing to...
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Back by popular demand: Under 5s coffee catch up
At 11:30am on the first Friday of each month, the New Barristers Committee will be hosting a coffee catch-up for Under 5s. Come along, get yourself a coffee and chat to other members of the...
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Vale: Eoin James Johnston 1946–2025
Eoin Johnston passed away on 23 October 2025. He left school aged 15 and worked as a tiler before travelling to North America and Africa working as an underground blaster, hard rock miner and in...
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Congratulations to Cathy Dowsett SC
Congratulations to Cathy Dowsett SC who, on 29 October 2025, became the first female First Nations silk in Australia, having been appointed Senior Counsel for the State of Victoria. Ms Dowsett SC’s...
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Member Advantage offers
Sponsored
The Bar Association has a partnership with Member Advantage, a leading provider of benefits programs. Bar Association membership entitles you to special savings on shopping, dining,...
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Today: Minds Count Lecture 2025
Across Australia, many legal practitioners work in isolation, whether in small towns, circuit courts, remote jurisdictions, or even within a city as sole practitioners, barristers, or in-house...
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Today: Paul Byrne Memorial Lecture
The Paul Byrne Memorial Lecture will be held on Thursday, 30 October 2025 at Sydney University Law School from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. The keynote speaker is the The Hon Justice Ian Harrison, Chief Judge...
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Today: Forbes Society – Legal History Tutorial Thursday, 30 October 2025
The Forbes Society is pleased to inform members that on Thursday, 30 October 2025 at 5.15 pm in Court 13A, Level 13 Law Courts Building, Professor Gabrielle Wolf (Monash University, formerly Deakin...
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