High Court Registry closure

The High Court Registry will be closed from 4:00pm AEDT on Wednesday, 24 December 2025 and will re-open at 9:00am on Friday, 2 January 2026.

Any party seeking to file a document due to be filed between 25 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 has an automatic extension of time under the High Court Rules 2004 (Rule 4.01.5) until 4:00pm on Friday, 2 January 2026 to file the document. Any documents lodged between 25 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 will be reviewed on 2 January 2026.

All inquiries for the High Court will be considered when the Registry re-opens on Friday, 2 January 2026. If a matter is of extreme urgency, you may telephone 1800 570 566, select Option 1 and leave a voicemail. In addition, provide details by email to: registry@hcourt.gov.au.

Australian Legal Convention 2025

Video recordings from the Australian Legal Convention 2025, an initiative of the Council of Chief Justices hosted by the High Court of Australia and the High Court building in Canberra.

Welcome to Country

Aunty Violet Sheridan, Ngunnawal Elder

State of the Judicature Address

Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC

Session 1: Legitimacy

Plenary Addresses - Legitimacy

Chaired by Chief Justice Andrew Bell

Speakers Dr Ruth Higgins SC and Ms Rachel Doyle SC

Legitimacy workshops

Courts and Declining Public Trust: Causes and Solutions

Facilitator Chief Justice Andrew Bell

Panellists Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann GNZM, Justice James Stellios & Dr Ruth Higgins SC

Open Justice: Courts and the Media

Facilitator Dr Matt Collins AM KC

Panellists Justice Jeremy Kirk, Justice Natalie Charlesworth & Ms Rachel Doyle SC

Diversity and Inclusion: Judicial and Other Species of Bias

Facilitator Chief Justice Michael Grant AO

Panellists Judge Dženita Balić, Justice Hament Dhanji & Justice Ingmar Taylor

Session 2: Artificial Intelligence

Plenary Addresses - Artificial Intelligence

Chaired by Chief Justice Richard Niall

Speakers Professor Edward Santow and Dr Kaye Ballantyne

Artificial Intelligence workshops

Harnessing AI by Courts

Facilitator Justice Nye Perram

Panellists Professor Lyria Bennett Moses, Professor Kimberlee Weatherall & Ms Sarah Carney

AI in Legal Practice

Facilitator The Honourable Anthony North KC

Panellists Mr Angus Lang SC, Ms Kathleen Foley SC & Ms Lisa Kozaris

AI in Legal Education, AI and Ethics

Facilitator Professor Tania Sourdin

Panellists Justice François Kunc, Professor Jeannie Marie Paterson & Professor Will Bateman

Session 3: Family and Sexual Violence

Plenary Addresses - Family and Sexual Violence

Chaired by Chief Justice William Alstergren AO

Speakers Justice Jacoba Brasch and Judge Liesl Kudelka SC

Family and Sexual Violence workshops

Court-based Approaches to Family Violence

Facilitator Chief Justice William Alstergren AO

Panellists Judge Kylie Beckhouse, Magistrate Lisa O’Neill & Ms Meaghan Bradshaw

Coercive Control and the Courts

Facilitator Justice Belinda Baker

Panellists Professor Heather Douglas AM, Justice Jacoba Brasch & Magistrate Therese McCarthy

Children and Youth in the Legal System

Facilitator Judge Jack Vandersteen

Panellists Justice Elizabeth Boyle & Ms Thelma Schwartz

Session 4: Institutional Well-Being (workshops only)

Well-Being in the Courts

Facilitator Ms Sally Ryan

Panellists Dr Carly Schrever, Mr Sandy Horneman-Wren SC & Magistrate Pauline Spencer

The Well-Being of the Profession

Facilitator Ms Julie Taylor SC

Panellists The Honourable Linda Dessau AC CVO, Ms Rebecca Fogerty & Mr Richard Wilson SC

The Well-Being of Students and Academics

Facilitator Professor Rufus Black

Panellists Associate Professor Judith Marychurch & Ms Rebecca Ferguson

Session 5: First Nations Justice

Plenary Addresses - First Nations Justice

Chaired by Chief Justice Debra Mortimer

Speakers Justice Lincoln Crowley and Justice Louise Taylor

First Nations Justice workshops

Truth Telling, Treaty, Land Justice and Native Title Reform

Facilitator Mr Anthony McAvoy SC

Panellists Commissioner Travis Lovett & Mr Joshua Creamer

Cultural Competence and Safety in the Legal System

Facilitator Mr Timothy Goodwin

Panellists Mr James Parfitt, Ms Jaime Parriman & Ms Vanessa Edwige

Criminal Law, Indigenous People and Therapeutic Justice

Facilitator Mr Damian Beaufils

Panellists Ms Nerita Waight & Magistrate Rose Falla

Session 6: Access to Justice

Plenary Addresses - Access to Justice

Chaired by Chief Justice Christopher Kourakis

Speakers Chief Justice Peter Quinlan and Judge Anastasis Liveris

Access to Justice workshops

Legal Aid, the Community Legal Sector and Pro Bono Practice

Facilitator Ms Kate Jenkins AO

Panellists Ms Rowan McRae, Ms Mary Corina Martin OAM & Ms Famin Ahmed

Unrepresented Litigants

Facilitator Chief Magistrate Steven Heath

Panellists Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett, Justice Paul Freeburn & Judge My Anh Tran

Rural, Regional and Remote Justice

Facilitator Justice Jenny Blokland AO

Panellists Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris AM, Mr David Connoley, Mr Nicholas Broadbent SC & Professor Amanda Kennedy

Session 7: Legal Education and Training

Plenary Addresses - Legal Education and Training

Chaired by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum

Speakers Justice Debra Mullins AO and Professor Catherine Renshaw

Legal Education and Training workshops

The Legal Syllabus in the 21st Century: the Future of Legal Education 2030 Project

Facilitator Justice Elisabeth Peden

Panellists Professor Nick James, Dr Andrew Henderson & Professor Eddie Cubillo

Pre- and Post-Admission Training: Educating a Practice Ready Profession for the 21st Century

Facilitator Justice Julie Ward

Panellists Ms Juliana Warner, Professor Andrew Lynch & Chief Justice Christopher Shanahan

Judicial Education

Facilitator Chief Justice Helen Bowskill

Panellists Ms Samantha Burchell, Ms Una Doyle & Ms Karen Gregory

Closing Remarks

Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC