Agenda

8:00am – 8:45am Registration Opens

8:45am – 9:00am Conference Opening Remarks

9:00am – 10:00am 6 Hot Topics in Family Law            The Honourable Garry Watts AM & Leah Reid A fast-paced, thought-provoking session about emerging family law issues.

10:00am – 11:00am Property Settlements Post-Reform: Insights from the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 and Shinohara Liz Kofoed, Dara Isaacson & Dr Elizabeth Pearson Facilitator: Patrick Parkinson AM, MA, LLM, LLD This session will examine how the Court’s approach to property settlements has evolved following the commencement of the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 and the Full Court’s decision in Shinohara and ask whether these developments are likely to disrupt or reinforce existing practices in family law.

11:00am – 11:30am Morning Tea

11:30am – 12:15pm Family Law and Forensics: Understanding Toxicology in Parenting Matters Professor Macdonald (Mac) Christie, PhD (Pharmacology) & Melanie Rubin This session will explore the intersection between science and legal strategy in cases involving drug and alcohol allegations, focusing on how to interpret testing, assess risk and apply evidence effectively to guide parenting arrangements and advocacy.

12:15pm – 1:00pm Keynote Session: Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Resilience in the New Era of Family Law Jahan Kalantar Jahan explores the emotional and professional challenges facing family lawyers today and offers practical strategies for building resilience in a rapidly changing legal landscape. From setting healthy boundaries to embracing collaboration and innovation, discover how adaptability and mindset shifts can define success in the modern era of family law.

1:00pm – 2:30pm Lunch

2:30pm – 3:30pm Parenting in Transition: Risk, Reform and Re Andrew The Honourable Justice Suzanne Christie, Karen Shea & Dr Catherine Boland This session examines how the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 – now 18 months on – is influencing parenting decisions and the "best interests" determination, particularly in cases where one parent has a genuine and immovable belief that the other poses an unacceptable risk to the child.

3:30pm – 4:15pm Dealing with the AI Tsunami as a Family Lawyer The Honourable Justice Altobelli AM & Michael Kearney SC A lively, thought-provoking panel exploring the risks, rewards and realities of digital media and AI in family law.

4:15pm – 4:30pm Closing Remarks

4:30pm - 5:30pm Networking Drinks