Program

Program Updates

Please note the program, speaker and session details are subject to change. Please check this page regularly

Program Time Zone

The session are shown in Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) UTC +9:30.

Use a time zone converter to check your time: timeanddate.com

THURSDAY
FRIDAY

THURSDAY 4 June 2026

08:00 – 17:30 Registration – Concourse
Pre Conference Meetings
08:15 – 09:30 Session 1
Room SAET – Riverside Centre The Vines – National Wine Centre The Gallery – National Wine Centre SACAT – 100 Pirie Street
08:15 – 09:30 Heads of Workers Compensation Tribunals (08:00 – 9:30)
Justice Steven Dolphin
Invitation Only
 Heads of Mental Health Jurisdictions Meeting
Convener: Senior Member Neil Rainford and Member Alex Reilly
Invitation Only
 Regulation of Health, Legal and Other Professionals Meeting
Convener: Senior Member Mark Stevens and Senior Member Jacqui Rugless
Invitation Only
 Tribunal Registrars Meeting (08:15 – 10:30)
Convener: Principal Registrar Anne Lindsay and Principal Registrar Wendy Wakefield
Invitation Only
09:45 – 10:45 Session 2
Location Hickinbotham Hall – National Wine Centre The Vines – National Wine Centre The Gallery – National Wine Centre Ferguson – National Wine Centre
09:45 – 10:45 Heads of Tribunals Meeting
President Malcolm Schyvens
Invitation Only		 Residential Tenancies
Co-Convener: Deputy President Barbara Johns, Senior Member Marie Alvino
Invitation Only		 Building and Property Subject Matter meeting
Convenor: Mr Chris Boys
Invitation Only		 Guardianship and Administration Meeting
Convener: Senior Member Cath Lester and Member Stacey Rowse
Invitation Only
11:00-11:30 Morning Tea – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall
11:30-11:45 Conference Welcome
President Malcolm Schyvens – COAT Chair
11:45-11:55 Welcome to Country
Cliffy Wilson, Kuma Kaaru
11:55 – 12:00 Conference Opening
Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia
Session Chair Justice Ted Woodward
12:00 – 12:30 Keynote Address
Respect, Fairness and Humanity: Keeping it real in an AI world  
Ms Rachel Doyle SC
12:30 – 13:20 Lunch – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall The Vines
Session Chair Principal Member Dr Juliet Lucy President Malcolm Schyvens
13:20-14:05 How self-represented participants interpret proceedings
Associate Professor David Butt, Linguist		 The application of the rules of evidence and procedural fairness in tribunals
Mr Bruce McTaggart KC
14:05 – 14:10 5-minute break 5-minute break
Session Chair Principal Registrar Anne Lindsay Justice Lea Armstrong
14:10 – 14:55 Autism in the tribunal
Ms Jodie Johannsen – Office for Autism SA		 Recusal in a fast-paced hearing room
Deputy President Teresa Anderson
14:55 – 15:25 Afternoon Tea – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall The Vines
Session Chair Deputy President Peter Britten-Jones Justice Lea Armstrong
15:25 – 16:10 Sovereign Citizens – the first empirical study
Associate Professor Joe McIntyre		 How to conduct a hearing so you can give an oral decision
Justice Judy Hughes
16:10 – 16:15 5-minute break 5-minute break
Session Chair Justice Steven Dolphin Mr Chris Boys
16:15 – 16:45 How to assist interpreters to assist your Tribunal
Interactive Workshop to create two templates for your Tribunal		 Understanding a cultural norm called “face” to Asian people, what it means to “give face” and “saving face” as a means to facilitate resolution in hearings and decision making
Mr Jack Tam
16:45 – 17:00 Conference Day One Close Conference Day One Close
18:30 – 22:30

Conference Dinner

Adelaide Town Hall – Auditorium
128 King William St, Adelaide
View in Google Maps

  • 18:00, doors open and drinks available
  • 18:30, guests seated
  • 18:45, welcome from the Conference chair
  • 18:50, entrée served
  • 19:00, the Sisters of Invention
  • 22:30, event Concludes

Getting to the Dinner

  • Walking: 17 minute walk from the Crowne Plaza Hotel
  • Uber/Taxi: Approximately six minutes, subject to traffic.
  • Public Transport: Adelaide Town Hall is easily accessible from Crowne Plaza Adelaide via Adelaide’s free city tram. Walk to Botanic Gardens Tram Stop, take any westbound tram and disembark at the Adelaide Railway Station Tram Stop. Transfer to a tram heading to Glenelg or South Terrace and disembark at the Pirie Street Tram Stop, just a short walk from Adelaide Town Hall. Total travel time is approximately 15–20 minutes, including walking.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY

FRIDAY 5 June 2026

08:00 – 17:30 Registration – Concourse
08:00 -08:30 COAT AGM | Hickinbotham Hall
Room Hickinbotham Hall
08:30 – 08:45 Day Two Opening
Principal Adjudicator Brett Carter
Graeme Neate Memorial Scholarship announcement
Session Chair Justice Steven Dolphin
08:45 – 09:30 Keynote Address
Industrial Justice: now with iPads
Hon Justice Ingmar Taylor of the President, NSW IR Court and Commission
09:30 – 09:55 Morning Tea – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall
Session Chair Commissioner Anina Johnson
09:55 – 10:55

Not drowning, waving – how to navigate the choppy seas of Tribunal work

Facilitator: Commissioner Anina Johnson Law Enforcement Conduct Commission of NSW 

Panellists:
Ms Martha Roche, Member NZ Immigration & Protection Tribunal
Justice Kerri Mellifont, President Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal
A/Prof Jonathan Lane, Chief Psychiatrist, Department of Veterans Affairs
10:55 – 11:00 5-minute break
Room Hickinbotham Hall The Vines The Gallery
Session Chair Principal Registrar Wendy Wakefield Deputy President Barbara Johns Deputy President Peter Britten-Jones
11:00 – 11:45 Thinking creatively about case management – people and technology in tribunals
Principal Registrar Anne Lindsay and Mr Simon Kelso		 Learnings from the Nunga Court
Retired Magistrate Paul Bennett		 Tribunals and the doctrine of precedent – who binds who?
Mr Mike Wait SC, Solicitor-General for SA
11:45 – 12:30 Lunch – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall
Session Chair Ms Sarah Eyre
12:30 – 13:30 Building a fire: Enhancing access to justice through culture
Mr David Wenitong
Principal Referee Janet Robertshawe
13:30 – 13:35 5-minute break
Room Hickinbotham Hall The Vines The Gallery
Session Chair President Mary-Therese Daniel President Mark O’Reilly Judge Judy Hughes
13:35 – 14:20 The centrality of judge-led proceedings in Singapore’s tribunal justice system
Deputy Principal District Judge Jasbendar Kaur		 Excellence in high volume lists
Deputy President Anne Britton		 Wandering hands but not wandering minds: Sexual misconduct, discipline and the rules of evidence
Judge Henry Jackson SC
14:20 – 14:45 Afternoon Tea – Concourse
Room Hickinbotham Hall
Session Chair Deputy President Shahyar Roushan
14:45 – 15:45 Plenary panel : AI and the future of tribunal decision-making
Deputy President Shahyar Roushan
Principal Member Dr Juliet Lucy
Principal Adjudicator Brett Carter
Dr Anne Bartlett-Bragg
Member Claire Bennett
Session Chair  
15:45 – 16:00 Conference close
Justice Judy Hughes
ABOUT COAT

The COAT is intended to facilitate liaison and discussion between the heads of tribunals. It will support the development of best practice models and model procedural rules, standards of behaviour and conduct for members and increased capacity for training and support for members.

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