Anthony Thomas

Tony Thomas focuses his practice on construction disputes (inclusive of OHS), infrastructure disputes, regulatory inquiries and public law. In 2021, he is engaged in large construction disputes in the Federal Court and in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a complex OHS matter for a major Victorian statutory authority, and holds an on-going brief for a large NGO that has been the subject of a multi-year ACNC investigation. In recent years, he has been lead counsel for the Commonwealth of Australia in the NSW Supreme Court (Liverpool City Council v Department of Treasury and Finance), lead counsel for the State of Papua New Guinea in an international arbitration and sentencing counsel in one of the Securency prosecutions in the Victorian Supreme Court. He has also practised extensively in IBAC for the State of Victoria.

Tony has been recognised by Best Lawyers for expertise in Construction / Infrastructure Law since 2020.

Tony represents clients on issues that include:

• Infrastructure projects
• Commercial and residential construction disputes
• Insurance litigation
• Owners Corporation disputes
• Complex IP royalty disputes
• Occupational Health and Safety prosecutions (defence)
• Ombudsman, IBAC and ACIC inquiries
• Class actions

Tony has significant experience in developing and implementing regulatory defence strategies for public companies. He has also led multiple internal investigations into allegations of fraud / corrupt conduct / anti-competitive conduct / money laundering within NGOs, private companies and public companies, including a major listed multi-national.

When litigating, Tony adopts a hands-on approach to factual inquiry and legal analysis. He has a deep understanding of expert evidence and recognises the critical role that well-prepared expert witnesses play in superior court litigation (and the early resolution thereof). 

Prior to joining the Bar, Tony was a senior adviser in the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Victoria) and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the University of Melbourne.