Australian Academy of Law

The Australian Academy of Law (AAL) is a permanent, non-government organisation devoted to the advancement of the discipline of law. According to its Constitution,^[1] the Australian Academy of Law comprises individuals of exceptional distinction from all parts of the legal community, including academia, the practising profession (including private and public sector lawyers), and the judiciary.

The Academy is registered^[2] under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012 (Cth).^[3] The Academy is a Deductible Gift Recipient, specifically listed in Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth).^[4]

The Academy was established on 17 July 2007, following recommendations made in the Australian Law Reform Commission's report, Managing Justice: A Review of the Federal Civil Justice System.^[5]

The Foundation Patron of the Academy was Chief Justice Murray Gleeson AC, Chief Justice of Australia.

The second Patron of the Academy was Chief Justice Robert French AC, Chief Justice of Australia.

The third Patron of the Academy was Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC, Chief Justice of Australia.

The fourth and present Patron of the Academy is the Hon Stephen Gageler AC, Chief Justice of Australia.

The first President of the Academy, from 2008, was the Hon Robert Nicholson AO KCSJ.

From 2011 to 2020 the President was the Hon Kevin Lindgren AM KC.

The current President is the Hon Alan Robertson SC (with effect from 1 July 2020).

When the Academy was founded in 2007 there were 36 Foundation Fellows, who were, in alphabetical order:

• Professor David Barker
• Professor Larissa Behrendt
• Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC
• Mr Henry Burmester AO QC
• Professor Donald RC Chalmers
• Professor Hilary Charlesworth
• Justice Terry Connolly
• Professor Michael Coper
• Professor Rosalind Croucher
• Associate Professor Andrea Durbach
• Professor Paul Fairall
• Mr Glenn Ferguson
• Justice Robert French
• Judge John Goldring
• Justice Susan Kenny
• Justice Susan Kiefel
• Justice Kevin Lindgren
• Justice Margaret McMurdo
• Professor Marcia Neave AO
• Justice Robert Nicholson AO
• Dr Melissa Perry QC
• Justice Ronald Sackville
• Professor Cheryl Saunders AO
• Justice Ralph Simmonds
• Justice Stephen Southwood
• Justice Margaret Stone
• Ms Pamela M Tate SC
• Professor Margaret Thornton
• Ms Anne Trimmer
• The Hon John von Doussa
• Mr Bret Walker SC
• Emeritus Professor Louis Waller AO
• Professor Kate Warner
• Justice Mark Weinberg
• Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot
• Justice Margaret White

The Academy consists of an elected Fellowship which includes nine Life Fellows, 342 Fellows and 16 Overseas Fellows as at January 2021.^[6]

The Life Fellows, in alphabetical order, are:

• Emeritus Professor David Barker AM
• The Hon Dame Quentin Bryce AC, CVO
• The Hon Robert French AC
• The Hon Murray Gleeson AC, GBS
• The Hon Susan Kiefel AC KC
• The Hon Kevin Lindgren AM, KC
• The Hon Sir Anthony Mason AC, KBE, CBE, GBM
• The Hon Robert Nicholson AO, KCSJ
• Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot AM

The current Directors are:^[7]

• The Hon Alan Robertson SC
• The Hon Justice Anthony Besanko
• Emeritus Professor Bee Chen Goh
• Emeritus Professor David Barker AM
• The Hon Kevin Lindgren AM, KC
• The Hon G John Digby KC
• The Hon Emeritus Professor Ralph Simmonds
• The Hon Duncan Kerr Chev LH
• The Hon Justice Judith Kelly
• Mr Russell Miller AM
• Dr Nuncio D'Angelo
• The Hon Justice Janine Pritchard
• The Hon Pamela Tate AM, KC
• Professor Natalie Skead
• Associate Professor Philip Chung

The Academy's current officeholders are:^[8]

President: The Hon Alan Robertson SC

Deputy President: The Hon Anthony Besanko

Treasurer: Emeritus Professor Bee Chen Goh

Secretary: Emeritus Professor David Barker AM

The Academy has the following Board Committees:^[9]

The Prizes and Scholarships Committee

The Research and Expenditure Committee

The Events Committees

The Website and Communications Committee

The Governance Committee

The Membership Committee

The Finance Committee.

There is also an Event Organising Committee in each State and Territory.

The Australian Academy of Law awards an annual essay prize of AU$10,000.^[10] It was inaugurated in 2015.

In 2024, the essay topic was “Taking into account the decision of the High Court in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 37 and the response by government to it, what is the law of preventative detention in Australia: Commonwealth, State and Territory? Is it fit for purpose? If not, how and by reference to what principles should it be reformed?”^[11]

The 2024 joint prize winners were Ms Ashleigh Barnes for her essay “Legislative Purpose, Fact-Finding And Preventative Detention following Lim-NZYQ” and Mr Zachary Gomes, Mr Aryan Mohseni and Mr Charlie Ward for their essay ”Going Out On A Lim: Reconceptualising The Constitutional Limit On Preventative Detention”.

The judging panel was former High Court Justice, Professor William Gummow AC KC, the Hon Pamela Tate AM KC and the Hon Justice Stephen McDonald.

The winning essays will be published in the Australian Law Journal.

Prize winners from 2015 to 2023 are listed on the Academy's website.^[12]

As well, the Academy awards annually the Michael Coper Memorial Prize of $1,500 to the winner of the Paper Presentation Competition conducted by the Australian Law Students' Association, and a prize of $1,500 for the best presentation at the Australian and New Zealand Law Honours Conference.

In 2021, the AAL offered for the first time the Australian Academy of Law First Nations Scholarship tenable in 2021 for a First Nations final year law student.

The First Nations Scholar for 2021 was Ms Mikeyli Hendry, a student at the University of Adelaide.^[13]

The First Nations Scholar for 2022 was Ms Lillian Ireland, a student at the Australian National University.^[14]

The First Nations Scholar for 2023 was Ms Georgia Fryer, a member of the Cubbitch Barta clan of the Dharawal nation and a final year law student at the University of Sydney majoring in Socio-Legal Studies.^[15]

The First Nations Scholar for 2024 was UNSW student Mr Kyle Fox, a proud Wiradjuri man currently in his final year at UNSW studying for a Bachelor of Law and Criminology and Criminal Justice.

The amount of the award is $5,000. Applications are through nominations by the respective Law Deans. The selection criteria are on the AAL's website.^[16]

• Official website