Australian Academy of Law

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 present Patron of the Academy is The Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel 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 QC.

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 Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC
• 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
• Professor Les McCrimmon
• Professor Gino Dal Pont
• Mr Russell Miller AM
• Dr Nuncio D'Angelo
• Mr Michael Murray
• 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 2022, the essay topic is “What are one or more reforms that could be made to remedy deficiencies in the administration by Australian courts of the criminal law as it applies to minorities or disadvantaged groups? Note: The essay should not focus on funding by government.”

The 2022 prize winners were Catherine Bugler (QUT) and Alice Muir (UQ) who both worked as Associates to Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The title of their essay was Recommendations to Alleviate Gendered, Racial and Socio-Economic Inequalities in the Administration of the Bail System.[11]

The judging panel was former High Court Justice, Professor William Gummow AC, Emeritus Professor Kate Warner AC and Mr Tim Game SC.

The rules governing the Annual Essay Prize 2022 are on the AAL's website.[10]

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

Prize winners from 2015 to 2021 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 amount of the award was $5,000. Applications were through nominations by the respective Law Deans. The selection criteria are on the AAL's website.[13] The First Nations Scholar for 2021 was Ms Mikeyli Hendry, a student at the University of Adelaide.[14] The First Nations Scholar for 2022 was Ms Lillian Ireland, a student at the Australian National University.[15]

• Official website