CPD Series | 2026

With so many CPDs earnest, but singular, join us for a different style of CPD – a dynamic panel discussion between Declan Byrne, Ashley Cameron, and Faheem Anwar, hosted by Frank Hicks SC, adopting the classic ‘hypotheticals’ style. The panel will consider various issues having regard hypothetical facts, including initial instructions and the prospect of injunctions, on site disputes (Can you film the builder in the course of works?), termination, case preparation and experts (conclaves and the riddle of Schrodinger’s Cat – is you case alive or dead?), attendance at Court, hearing and judgment.

The High Court has said: “The field of debate, causation, is one of the most difficult in the law, and one about which abstract discussion is seldom valuable for courts and those who practise in them.” Many legal practitioners focus so closely on whether a defendant’s conduct was wrong they overlook whether the misconduct was causative of loss. Greenway’s Dinesh Ratnam and Andrew Girgis will get you thinking “so what” by taking you through some of the common mistakes and look at the role of the hypothetical counterfactual in pleading and presenting cases for misleading or deceptive conduct and the extent to which it differs from causation in other contexts.

Colin Magee and Justin Pen will summarise recent developments regarding the prosecution of “reckless conduct” offences under s 31 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), including by reference to cognate legislation in cognate jurisdictions – namely, whether recklessness requires proof that a defendant foresaw the possibility, rather than a probability, of a risk to health and safety. They will also review the proposed changes to s 31, and the proposed insertion of a new s30A “industrial manslaughter” offence, expressed in the Model Work Health and Safety Legislation Amendment (Offences and Penalties) 2023 (Cth).We hope you can join us.

In our first segment, Frank Hicks SC and Richard Cheney SC discuss the High Court decision of Stubbings v Jams 2 concerning unconscionable conduct, the Full Federal Court decision in Minister for the Environment v Sharma about the common law duty of care on the Minister in the context of climate change, and Palmer v Premiair Aviation Maintenance a case in which Clive Palmer was ordered to pay costs on an indemnity basis. In our second segment, Frank is joined by Ingmar Taylor SC and Lucy Saunders to discuss the recent High Court decisions concerning the question of independent contractor v employee – CFMMEU v Personnel Contracting and ZG Operations v Jamsek. Medium neutral citations of the cases discussed are: Stubbings v Jams 2 Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 6 Minister for the Environment v Sharma [2022] FCAFC 35 Palmer v Premiair Aviation Maintenance [2022] FCA 185 CFMMEU v Personnel Contracting [2022] HCA 1 ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2

In this episode, Frank Hicks looks at two recent UK decisions concerning liquidated damages and delay. What is the accrued right to liquidated damages when works are terminated before completion and can a clause which is invalid as a penalty still be operable as a cap? In our second segment, Frank is joined by Richard Cheney and Adele Carr to discuss two important High Court decisions of recent times. Price v Spoor considers the statutory limitations on liability and agreements which may make those provisions unenforceable. Libertyworks Inc v The Commonwealth of Australia concerns the implied right of political communication and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act 2018 (Cth) ("the FITS Act"), which seeks to ensure greater transparency with respect to potential foreign influence in the effective functioning and accountability of Australian government institutions. Lastly, our Front of House team discusses life in Chambers in these strangest of times! Intro and end music: This Right Here by Till Transition sounds: The Improv and Extraordinaire by DJ Quads Produced by Greenway Chambers