New South Wales

by Alexandra Bartlett, Branch President

The last few months have been busy for the NSW committee.

A special shout out to our YP committee, which successfully hosted a popular YP networking event. It is great to see AILA’s younger members attending these events. The YP committee put in a lot of hard work into organising the event and it certainly paid off.

We have continued our successful Twilight series. The most recent seminar was on the important decision in Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd.

Planning continues for a celebration for AILA’s 40th anniversary – keep an eye out for details, which will be revealed soon.

We are looking forward to joining colleagues and making new connections at the WICA2023 XVI AIDA World Insurance Congress at the end of August.

Victoria

by Darren Ferrari, Branch President

Usually, these updates go through the various events that have occurred and those to come.

However, this issue, all these are overshadowed by the start of WICA 2023, the XVI AIDA World Insurance Congress.

Starting on 30 August 2023, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (or Jeff’s Shed, as it will be called long after anyone, who is not a Hawthorn supporter, remembers who ‘Jeff’ is), the congress will bring together insurance practitioners from across the world.

Apart from the main sessions, there will be several excellent satellite events. Personally, I am looking forward to the AILA Young Professionals mock trial and the Diversity@AILA event.

Victorian committee members, including me, Charlotte Adol and Andrea Petrocco, have advised the congress planners in picking venues for some of those satellite events. Thanks to everyone who has helped (and apologies if I have missed anyone).

In the meantime, the Victorian committee keeps planning seminars and webinars, with sessions covering indemnity and declinatures, concepts of fairness in insurance, and the rights and responsibilities of general insurance brokers. These are all in planning or, at the time of writing, about to occur.

I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at WICA2023, its associated events and our upcoming seminars.

Tasmania

by Lisa Rankin, Branch President

In April, Chris Dockray presented an insightful seminar on the Fatal Accidents Act in Launceston.

It was the first event in the north of the state for some time and a great success with many industry members attending.

The subcommittee has been working hard in preparation for the Annual Workers’ Compensation Masterclass on 25 August 2023 at Crowne Plaza. Tickets are on sale now and it is shaping up to be another fantastic event with pre-eminent speakers at a pre-eminent location.

Planning is in progress for AILA’s 40th birthday celebrations in October.

The Tasmanian committee congratulates our own Zach Blayden who entered the Ron Shorter Award for the first time and reached the semi-finals. Congratulations Zach!

Queensland

By Resolve Editor Kate Tilley

“Awesome” mentors led a Brisbane student to study law and their encouragement has culminated in him winning an AILA student prize.

Corey Cavanough told Resolve two schoolteachers, one of whom was a former lawyer, recognised his potential during legal studies at high school and “nudged” him towards his chosen career path.

He received the AILA student prize for achieving the highest marks in insurance law subjects at Griffith University (GU).

Corey, 23, will graduate this year with a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Commerce (Financial Planning) degree. Apart from the AILA student prize, he has received three GU academic excellence awards, and is a member of the Griffith Business School’s Academic Excellence Society and the Golden Key International Honour Society, which recognises high-performing students.

AILA presents student prizes, each worth $500, to the top students in insurance law subjects at several universities around Australia annually to encourage graduates to seek careers in the insurance industry.

Corey said the law was attractive because there were “thousands of different ways to achieve the result a client wants”, as opposed to, say, mathematics, where there was always only one correct answer.

AILA Qld president Sarah Tuhtan presented the prize to
Corey Cavanough.

He elected the double degree because the dual qualifications would “open more doors and be more useful in the job market”.

At the time of his win, Corey was doing a part-time placement at the Brisbane office of insurance law specialist HBA Legal.

“It’s made me realise the many ways that insurance is involved in the claims process,” he said.

Corey enjoyed the variety of claims he was involved with, from a hospital medical negligence case to a supermarket slip and trip. “It was different every week.”

The double degree has also enabled him to see insurance from the perspectives of both lawyers and their clients.

Engagement with AILA enables Corey to continue to benefit from wise mentors.

“I am grateful to AILA for its support for young aspiring insurance lawyers and the opportunities to meet a range of people in the profession and the insurance industry,” he said.

AILA Queensland President Sarah Tuhtan, who presented Corey with his prize at the Griffith University Law School’s (GULS) annual awards ceremony, said it was “wonderful to see such a bright cohort being recognised for their achievements”.

She also praised GULS Dean Therese Wilson for recognising insurance law as a distinct subject from contracts and torts law. “While both are foundational, they don’t really capture the critical role insurance plays in the commercial world,” Sarah said.

Western Australia

by Andrew Lillico, Branch President

AILA WA has had a busy and exciting quarter in terms of delivery of education and engagement more broadly.

We have improved our engagement with the University of Western Australia’s Law School and the Murdoch Law School to sponsor AILA student prizes and WA committee members attended both university award nights.

An excellent education seminar was delivered by Paul Mendelow on the High Court decision and the impacts of Western Power v Herridge Parties & Ors. This case was covered in the March issue of Resolve. [insert link]

Greg Pynt delivered a seminar on the non-disclosure impacts of the Allianz Australia Insurance v Delor Vue Apartments High Court case, which was also covered in the March issue of Resolve. [insert link]

The AILA and University of Western Australia Sir Ninian Stephen Insurance Law Masterclass was held as a full-day workshop in July.

A fantastic panel discussion on cyber incidence response claims was also in July, with experts from law, broking and cyber security.

A seminar on the evolution of consultant brokers in workers’ comp claims is lined up for August with Marsh.

Stay turned for a case law round up on catastrophic claims and WA’s AILA 40th birthday celebration.