Adam McBeth

Adam came to the Bar from a distinguished career in academia, having been an Associate Professor at the Monash University Law Faculty and a Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.

Adam practises primarily in public law, including judicial review, constitutional law, electoral law, immigration, human rights and matters in VCAT and the AAT, as well as appeals and commercial matters involving regulators or issues of statutory construction. He also practises broadly in tort and other civil litigation. He appears regularly in all jurisdictions and prepares written advice on commercial, tort and public law matters.

Adam’s recent appearances include:

High Court

• Re Canavan & ors (2017) 91 ALJR 1209 (the ‘dual citizenship case’, regarding ineligibility of various parliamentarians under s44 of the Constitution, led by B Walters QC, with E Bennett, for former Senators Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters).
• Minister for Immigration v DUA16 [2020] HCA 46 (bias and unreasonableness, led by G Costello QC for the respondents).
• ABT17 v Minister for Immigration [2020] HCA 34 (unreasonableness and the importance of demeanour, led by M Schilling for the appellant – pro bono referral).
• BRF038 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2017] HCA 44 (first ever appeal from the Supreme Court of Nauru in a refugee case, led by G Costello for the appellant).
• Adler v Ludlam and Waters [2018] HCATrans 133, 158 (unled for the defendants, successfully opposing applications under the Common Informers (Parliamentary Disqualifications) Act).

Court of Appeal

• Minister for Families and Children & Ors v Certain Children by their Litigation Guardian Sister Marie Brigid Arthur [2016] VSCA 343 (the ‘Barwon Prison case’, led by B Walters QC, with M Albert and S Fitzgerald, for the respondent children in the Court of Appeal).

Supreme Court of Victoria

• Certain Children by their Litigation Guardian Sister Marie Brigid Arthur v Minister for Families and Children (No 1) [2016] VSC 796 (successful judicial review on behalf of the plaintiff children in the ‘Barwon Prison case’, led by B Walters QC, with M Albert and S Fitzgerald).
• Certain Children (No 2) [2017] VSC 251 (successful claim under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities on behalf of the plaintiff children, led by I Freckelton QC, with M Albert and S Fitzgerald).
• AA v Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (2020) 61 VR 436 (procedural fairness, capacity of agencies to quash their own decisions, unled for the plaintiff, with M Stead).
• Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services v Children’s Court of Victoria & Ors (led by G Georgiou SC, for the child the subject of a Children’s Court order in a judicial review application by the Secretary).

Federal Court of Australia

• Onus v Minister for Environment [2020] FCA 1807 (successful challenge to decision regarding road through significant area to Aboriginal people, unled for applicants, opposed to silk).
• MZAFZ v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2016) 243 FCR 1 (established denial of procedural fairness for undisclosed s438 certificate, unled for the appellant).
• CZA19 v Federal Circuit Court [2021] FCAFC 57 (scope of judicial review of inferior court’s decision, unled for applicant).
• FHN18 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (urgent injunction removing a detainee from Nauru for medical treatment, led by L De Ferrari SC)

County Court

• Pollard Properties v Bourke (unled for the defendant on a successful application to set aside substituted service; underlying dispute settled)

Administrative Appeal

s Tribunal

• McGrath and Director-General, National Archives [2020] AATA 1790 (access to documents regarding negotiations over the Timor Gap, led by G Costello for the applicant).
• El Armaly and Secretary, Department of Social Services [2020] AATA 984 (successful challenge to Centrelink pension cancellation, unled for applicant).

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

• Victorian Electoral Commission and Various Respondents (Moreland CC) (challenge to validity of local elections in Moreland City Council).

Adam is an accomplished author, with three books to his credit, including Australia’s leading human rights text, The International Law of Human Rights (with Justine Nolan and Simon Rice), as well as numerous book chapters and articles in scholarly journals. He has conducted training on international human rights law for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and for representatives of governments and civil society from Iraq and Indonesia. He has also conducted training for government on the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, and for business on corporate social responsibility and human rights litigation.

In 2019, Adam received the Victorian Bar Public Interest / Justice Innovation Award as part of the counsel team for the Barwon Prison youth detention matter.