Annual Tax Lectures

Presented by Dr Julianne Jaques KC with Professor Julian Webb as commentator and Associate Professor Kathryn James as chair. Tax scandal is not a new phenomenon, but pressures from the increasing complexity of tax legislation together with the evolution of the profession, the media ecosystem, commerce and community expectations, has caused a situation where legal tax practice might accurately be described as the “danger zone”. This lecture explores the pressures faced by tax lawyers in complying with their ethical obligations through the lens of historic legal scandals and identifies the role that basic professional ethical principles can play in surviving – and thriving in – the “danger zone”.
A recording will be available soon.

Presented by Professor Annet Wanyana Oguttu (Director of African Tax Institute at the University of Pretoria) with Associate Professor Kathryn James as chair. Historically, there has not been a legally constituted international tax body designated to set international tax norms. Instead, over the past century, international bodies such as the OECD and the UN undertook various initiatives in international tax cooperation. However, the effectiveness of these international bodies in international tax cooperation have been hampered and increasingly concerns have been expressed from developing countries about their legitimacy and inclusivity. The tide changed in 2022 when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on the “promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation”, to be affected through a “UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation” (UNFCITC) which will be accompanied with protocols (separate legally binding instruments) to regulate specific tax matters. A “Member State-led, open-ended ad hoc intergovernmental committee” which was established in 2023, set the terms of reference which provide that the objective of the UNFCITC is to establish a system of governance for international tax cooperation. A “Member State-led intergovernmental negotiating committee” was established with the mandate to draft the text of the UNFCITC and two early protocols, and present them to the UN General Assembly for its consideration in the first quarter of its eighty-second session in 2027. This annual tax lecture considers the justifications of the UNFCITC, its potential gains and pitfalls in achieving sustainable international tax cooperation.
Watch Professor Annet Wanyana Oguttu's lecture.

Presented by Rob Heferen (Commissioner of Taxation) with Professor Miranda Stewart as chair. Automation and digitalisation will continue to grow and strengthen the way we administer the tax system and elements of the super and registry systems. As this machine grows, how do we ensure fairness subsists, and that the human touch continues to deliver excellent public service?
Read Commissioner Rob Heferen's lecture.

Presented by Emeritus Professor Judith Freedman (University of Oxford) with The Hon Kenneth Hayne AC KC (Former Justice of the High Court of Australia) as discussant. Tax law may be thought to an area where precision is of the utmost importance. A taxpayer must know with certainty what their liability is. There is an obvious need for precision in tax rates, for example. Nevertheless, tax law employs many indeterminate concepts. Is that an inevitable result of the difficulties of drafting, or problems with the underlying policy, or can vagueness be a valuable design technique which should be embraced, sometimes at least, when drafting tax legislation? Drawing particularly on the work of Professor Timothy Endicott, this paper argues that vagueness has value in tax law as in other areas and that, properly utilised and coupled with appropriate safeguards, it does not need to result in a deficit in the rule of law. The Tax Group's 17th Annual Tax Lecture was held on Tuesday 15 November.

Presented by Mr Mark Leibler AC (senior partner of Arnold Bloch and Leibler). Without the rule of law, taxation amounts to little more than state-sanctioned theft on a grand scale. But, when the ever-more excruciating complexity and uncertainty of Australian tax law requires the Commissioner of Taxation to interpret and apply the law without authoritative guidance, there is an increasing risk of legal but unjust application of taxation law. In this Annual Tax Lecture, held on Wednesday 23 March 2022, Mr Leibler explored what this means for taxpayers, who rely on the Commissioner acting fairly, and should be protected for operating within the framework of the Commissioner’s past guidance or practice. Professor Pip Nicholson opened the lecture with the Hon Susan Crennan QC AC giving the vote of thanks. Read Mr Leibler's lecture on the pre-publication version of the paper or watch the recording.

Presented by Professor Graeme Cooper from the University of Sydney. In his lecture, Graeme discussed the problems with Australian tax legislation and how we might achieve better tax law. The Tax Group's 15th Annual Tax Lecture was held on Thursday 15 October. It was opened by the Melbourne Law School's Dean, Professor Pip Nicholson with Terry Murphy QC giving the Vote of Thanks to close the event. The lecture's recording and presentation slides are now available to view.

Presented by The Honour Justice Jennifer Davies, from the Federal Court of Australia. Justice Davies is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne lecturing in postgraduate courses and is on the board of the International Association of Tax Judges. The lecture, held on Tuesday 29th October, examined the challenges for certainty and consistency in the application of Australia's tax laws posed by the increasingly international commercial environment and changing legislative framework in response to the globalisation of tax policy.

Presentation slides

Audio Recording

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Presented by Professor Peter Harris, from the University of Cambridge. Professor Harris will also be teaching Comparative Corporate Tax (August 2018) in the Melbourne Law Masters. Held on Wednesday 22nd August, the presentation slides can be accessed here.

Presented by Philip Baker QC, barrister at Field Court tax Chambers, Gray's Inn. Mr Baker is a former Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School and Visiting Professor at Oxford University. Held on Wednesday 31st August, this lecture is not available.

Presented by David Bloom QC, one of Australia's leading silks specialising in revenue and taxation. Mr Bloom spoke on  Held on Wednesday 5th August. Please click here for a copy of the speech

Presented by  Chief Justice James Allsop AO, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia. Chief Justice Allsop spoke on. Held on Tuesday 5th August, this lecture is not available.

Presented by Professor William Gummow AC, former Justice of the High Court of Australia. Held on Thursday 12th September, please click here for a copy of the speech. Professor Gummow's lecture is also at (2014) 37(3) Melbourne University Law Review 334.

Presented by The Hon Justice Michelle Gordon of the Federal Court of Australia. Held on Wednesday 29th August, please click here for a copy of the speech. Justice Gordon's lecture is at (2013) 36(3) Melbourne University Law Review 1038.

Presented by Professor David Rosenbloom of New York University. Held on Wednesday 3rd August, please click here for a copy of the speech. This lecture is now published at is (2012) 41 ATRev 126.

Presented by The Hon. Justice Richard Edmonds from the Federal Court of Australia. Held on Tuesday 17th August, please click here for a copy of the speech. Justice Edmonds' lecture is published in (2011) 35(1) Melbourne University Law Review 236.

Presented by The Hon. Justice Tony Pagone, of the Supreme Court of VictoriaHeld on Thursday 20th August, please click here for a copy of the speech. Justice Pagone's paper was published in (2009) (33) Melbourne University Law Review pp 886-906.

Presented by The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby, of the High Court of Australia. This paper was published in the Melbourne University Law Review. Citation: The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG, 'Of 'Sham' and Other Lessons for Australian Revenue Law' (2008) (32) Melbourne University Law Review pp 868-871. To download a copy of the paper, click here.

Presented by Professor John Tiley CBE of the University of Cambridge. A copy of his lecture is available for download here.

Presented by The Hon. Justice Neil Young of the Federal Court presented a paper titled . This paper is published in the Melbourne University Law Review. Citation: Neil J Young, 'The Historical Significance of the High Court's Decision in Federal Commissioner of Taxation v The Myer Emporium Ltd' (2007) (31) Melbourne University Law Review 266. To download a copy of the published paper, click here.

Presented by Allan Myers QC, one of Australia's most eminent barristers. This lecture is available for download here.