Aphrodite Kouloubaritsis

At the Bar, Aphrodite practices predominantly in commercial law, equity, inquiries, and estates matters.

Prior coming to the Bar, Aphrodite practiced in commercial litigation at Holding Redlich and Arnold Bloch Leibler.  She has worked as a Legal Researcher at the Victorian Court of Appeal (in 2002) and the Federal Court (in 2003).  Aphrodite is a former Associate to the Honourable Justice Finkelstein (as he then was) of the Federal Court.

She is briefed in matters relating to banking and finance, contracts, corporations’ law, bankruptcy and insolvency, equity, negligence, trade practices, torts, and contested estate and power of attorney proceedings.  Aphrodite also accepts briefs in regulatory investigations and statutory inquiries, including IBAC and Royal Commissions.

A sample of the matters Aphrodite has been briefed in, include: 

Commercial Law

• Lipa Pharmaceuticals Ltd v Australian Skin Products Pty Ltd (trading as ASAP Skin Products) (2024/2025, County Court of Victoria): contractual claim and alleged product liability – unled.
• Scordo v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [2024] FCA 359: successful application to summarily dismiss proceeding – unled.
• Pavloff Investments Pty Ltd v Transfab Holdings Pty Ltd (2024, Supreme Court of Victoria): preliminary discovery; contractual claim – unled.
• ASIC section 19 investigation (2024): acting for examinee (unled).
• Kelly Bros Market Gardeners Pty Ltd v Accensi Pty Ltd & Ors (2023/2024, County Court of Victoria): alleged product liability, misleading or deceptive conduct – unled.
• Moore v Hipkins (2022/2023, Supreme Court of Victoria): joint endeavour constructive trust, resulting trust – unled.
• ANZ Ltd v Lancelotti (2022, Supreme Court of Victoria): life interest, priority dispute – unled.
• Bozkurt v Pro-Pac Packaging (Aus) Pty Ltd (2017/2018, County Court): collateral contract and alleged breach of the misleading or deceptive conduct provisions of the Australian Consumer Law and Fair-Trading Act 2012 (Vic) – unled.
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Capuano (2016/ 2017, County Court) – contract variation, security substitution, alleged undue influence - unled.
• Acted for a former CFO of a former ASX listed company in s 596 examination conducted by the company’s receivers: (2016, Federal Court of Australia) - unled.
• BDS House Management Pty Ltd v Asia Pac Holdings Pty Ltd: (2016, Supreme Court of Victoria) – application to set aside a statutory demand under s 459J of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) - unled.
•  PHD Networks Pty Ltd v Eaglemoss Ltd (2015, District Court of NSW) – conventional estoppel, professional negligence, breach of contract, misleading or deceptive conduct - unled.
• You Pack Removals Pty Ltd v Australian Entertainment Logistics Pty Ltd (subject to DOCA): (2015, Supreme Court of Victoria) – acted for a deed administrator in an appeal from his decision to disallow (in part) a proof of debt - unled.
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Bastian: (2015, Supreme Court of Victoria) – acted for the CBA in a priorities dispute between competing equitable interests - unled.
• Benue Minerals Ltd v Banc Qld Pty Ltd: ([2014] VCC 1558 and thereafter 2015 Supreme Court of Victoria) – conversion, detinue and breach of contract - unled.
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Ali: (2014, County Court of Victoria) – alleged third party fraud, subrogation, construction of Memorandum of Common Provisions - unled.
  

• Primebroker Securities Ltd (receivers & managers appointed) (liquidator appointed) v Douglas Lomas (as trustee of the Centre Management Trust  [2013] VSC 223  -acted for a liquidator in relation to monies owing under an Australian Securities Lending Agreement; breach of trust and knowing assistance ‘Barnes v Addy’ counterclaim – with Simon Marks QC and thereafter Philip Corbett QC (now Judge Corbett).
• Westpac Banking Corporation Ltd v Moresi Vineyards Pty Ltd: (2013, County Court of Victoria): defended allegations that the bank’s receiver sold a commercial vineyard at an undervalue; relief sought under s420A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and s 77 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) -unled. 
• David McLauchlan v Chimaera Capital Ltd (2012, Supreme Court of Victoria) -acted for a subpoenaed party in relation to whether its litigation funding agreement is subject to litigation client legal privilege - unled. 
• Trust Company of Australia v Cressey & Ors (2012, Supreme Court of Victoria) – successful removal of four caveats - unled. 
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Doan (2011, County Court of Victoria) – guarantor alleging unconscionable conduct against a lender - unled. 
• Somerville v Haboldt (2011, County Court of Victoria) – equitable undue influence, resulting trust, unconscionable conduct – with Kate McMillan SC (later Justice McMillan). 

Royal Commissions and Statutory Inquiries

• Acted for two individual examinees at IBAC’s public hearings into alleged corruption at the Victorian Department of Education and Training (unled) (Operation Ord) (2015) – unled. 
• Acted for the Victorian and Tasmanian Synod of the Uniting Church of Australia in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2014/2015) – with Simon Marks QC.
• Acted for the National Union of Workers, LUCRF Super, IR 21 Ltd, and other persons at the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (2014) – with Richard Attiwill QC (now Justice Attiwill).

Estates, Power of Attorney and Guardianship Matters

• Re Tsalamandris [2024] VSC 9 – application for revocation of grant of probate on grounds of lack of knowledge and approval of will and undue influence; successfully defended application for summary dismissal – unled. 
• KDT (Guardianship) [2023] VCAT 313 - successfully defended application to declare power of attorney invalid– unled. 
• WME (Guardianship) [2023] VCAT 1117 - successfully prosecuted application to revoke financial power of attorney due to non-compliance of the Powers of Attorneys Act – unled. 
• Prosecuting and defending numerous claims under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), predominantly in the Supreme Court (with some in the County Court)- unled. 
• In the matter of the estate of Alastair Lucas AO: (2016, Supreme Court of Victoria) – successful application for letters of administration pendente lite – with Rick Wells.

Vic Bar Committees
Readers’ Course Committee (2018 – 2024), including the Readers’ Course Executive (2021-2024).