News Archive

School of Business and Law of ECU is hosting a CPD event on Monday 14 December 2020, from 4.30pm-6.30pm (AWST):

‘Specific Performance In Favour of A Purchaser of Land - The Contemporary Australian Position’ by Mr Ken Yin

and

‘Climate Change, Human Mobility, and International Law’ by Dr Mostafa Naser.

While the seminar will be held in ECU (Perth), participants can join the seminar online via ZOOM (the meeting link is provided in the flyer). Attendance is free, but the participants need to register. There are two CPD (knowledge) points and there will be food and drink afterwards.

Join us as we celebrate and reflect on the ideas and conversations that shaped AALA in 2020 and hear from our panel about the projects and issues that will shape us in the new year. 

To register, please click here. 

Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group e-journal — call for article submissions

The Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG) is inviting article submissions for the APRAG E-Journal to be published in February 2021. Articles must be submitted by 30 December 2020 to Kotchaporn Sathansub at secretariat@aprag.org. 

The submission guidelines are available here

The WA Branch had a wonderful time on 27 November 2020 at its End of Year Dumplings & Drinks, with its committee, members and supporters enjoying delicious treats at Shy John's Brewery. 

The WA Branch thanks everyone who took part in their events and initiatives during 2020.  

We look forward to 2021 with hope and excitement! 

Molina Asthana, Vice President of Asian Australian Lawyers Association, interviewed by Law in Colour; 25 Nov., 2020

To read the interview

AALA is delighted to release the YouTube video for the inaugural AALA National Cultural Diversity Summit, our largest ever event.

The video features:

Acknowledgment of Country and Welcome - Kingsley Liu and Anand Shah

Session 1 - Being a Community Leader and Promoting Diversity - Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG and Judge My Anh Tran, chaired by John K Arthur

Session 2 - Access to Justice as a Cultural Diversity Goal - Hon Justice Darryl Rangiah and Mai Chen, chaired by Matt Floro

Cooking Break with Moni Lai Storz

Session 3 - Model for Judicial Appointments - The Need for Cultural Diversity - Rt Hon Lord Justice Rabinder Singh, Hon Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Pauline Wright, chaired by Belinda Wong

Comedy Break with Diana Nguyen

Session 4 - Collaborating for Cultural Diversity in the Law - Donald Betts Jr, Jazeer Nijamudeen and Amani Green, chaired by Molina Asthana

Vote of thanks - Wai Kaey Soon and Daniel Nguyen

Sitar performance by Sudha Manian

We invite you to sit back, relax, and watch the National Summit video at your leisure!

Watch the National Summit Video

Join AALA or renew your AALA membership now

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6737989652164288512/

AALA National Annual General Meeting 2020 - 26 November 2020 via Zoom and on-site at the offices of Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney

The AALA National Annual General Meeting (National AGM) will be held:

Date: Thursday, 26 November 2020

Time: 6.00pm AEDST (Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney) (for a 6.30pm start)

5.30pm ACDST (Adelaide) (for a 6.00pm start)

5.00pm AEST (Brisbane) (for a 5.30pm start)

3.00pm AWST (Perth) (for a 3.30pm start)

The National AGM will be simultaneously held virtually via Zoom and on-site at the offices of Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. AALA thanks Corrs Chambers Westgarth for its generous support.

If you live anywhere in Australia, instead of attending the National AGM in person, you may choose to attend via Zoom. Zoom details will be sent to you upon registration.

For further details about the National AGM, please visit the National AGM event page.

You must register to attend the National AGM. Registration to attend the National AGM closes at 6pm AEDST Wednesday 25 November 2020.

Register for the National AGM now

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NATIONAL AGM GUEST SPEAKER

AALA is delighted to announce our guest speaker for the National AGM:

Elizabeth Lee MLA, ACT Opposition Leader, Member for Kurrajong in the ACT Legislative Assembly

Elizabeth is the first Asian Australian leader of a major Australian political party. Elizabeth was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2016. Prior to becoming Leader, Elizabeth was the Assistant Speaker, Shadow Minister for Education, Shadow Minister for the Environment, Shadow Minister for Disability. Having migrated to Australia from Korea at the age of seven, Elizabeth grew up in Sydney. Elizabeth moved to Canberra when she turned 18 to study Law and Asian Studies at The Australian National University (ANU). Elizabeth practised law in government and in private practice, prior to working to the ANU and the University of Canberra to be a law lecturer. During her time in legal practice, Elizabeth served the profession as Chair of the ACT and the Australian Young Lawyers Committees and as a Councillor and Vice President of the ACT Law Society. Elizabeth has a passion for fitness. Prior to being elected, Elizabeth often taught group fitness classes, Sh’Bam and Body Balance at various gyms around Canberra.

IMPORTANT: ATTENDANCE AND VOTING AT NATIONAL AGM

You will only be allowed to vote at the National AGM, or be nominated for a position on the National Executive Committee, if you joined AALA or renewed your AALA membership on or before 11 November 2020. If you wish to check the currency of your AALA membership, please contact treasurer@aala.org.au as soon as possible. Further details are available at the National AGM event page.

If you are not eligible to vote at the National AGM, you are welcome to register and attend as an observer.

Whether you are attending the National AGM via Zoom or in person, please carefully read the instructions below that are applicable to you.

Attending the National AGM via Zoom

If you are attending the National AGM via Zoom:

• You must log onto the Zoom conference with a working webcam at 6pm AEDST / 5.30pm ACDST / 5pm AEST / 3pm AWST SHARP so that our Returning Officers can properly credential you by seeing your face and asking your name. If you do not have a working webcam, we will not be able to properly credential you as a voting member. Please test your webcam before logging on to the Zoom meeting.
• If you are a voting member and are only voting on your own behalf (i.e. you do not hold any proxy votes), please ensure you have a piece of paper handy on which you have written “Yes” on one side and “No” on the other side. This will be your “voting card” that you will hold up to your webcam for voting on ordinary and special resolutions.
• If you are a voting member and you are voting on behalf of other people as their proxy, please ensure you have additional “voting cards” for as many proxies as you hold, with the word “Yes” on one side and the word “No” on the other side. These will be your proxy “voting cards” that you will hold up to your webcam for proxy voting on ordinary and special resolutions.

Please note the following important information in relation to any contested elections for AALA National Executive Committee positions:

• Any contested elections for National Executive Committee positions will be voted on via Election Runner, a simple and secure electronic voting platform, by all voting members at the National AGM.
• If there is a contested election, candidates will have an opportunity to present their statements (5 minutes for National President/Vice President/Secretary/Treasurer; 3 minutes for Ordinary Executive Committee Member), after which attendees will have a limited amount of time to ask individual or all candidates questions.
• When all candidates have spoken and finished taking questions from attendees, voting will begin. All voting members at the National AGM will receive a unique, personal voting link via Election Runner emailed directly to your email address registered with AALA. You cannot share this link with others and the link will only allow you to vote once. No login is required and the National Returning Officer can only see if you have voted or not and not whom you've voted for – a true secret ballot. The National Returning Officer will inform National AGM attendees once the Election Runner email has been sent.
• If you haven’t received your unique voting link from Election Runner 10 minutes after it has been sent, please contact the National Returning Officer directly at returningofficer@aala.org.au and he will provide it to you.

Attending the National AGM in person

If you are attending the National AGM in person, you must attend the offices of Corrs Chambers Westgarth in either Brisbane, Perth or Sydney at 6pm AEDST / 5pm AEST / 3pm AWST SHARP. Please note the following:

• You will be credentialled upon entering the room. If you are verified as a voting member, you will be given a voting card indicating “Yes” and “No”, and additional voting cards for any proxies you hold.
• In relation to any contested elections for AALA National Executive Committee positions, if you are a voting member, please make sure to carry a device (i.e. mobile phone, tablet or laptop) that can access the Internet as any contested elections will be conducted entirely via Election Runner, a simple and secure online voting platform.

Treatment of proxies for contested elections

In relation to any contested elections:

• For those members eligible to vote who have been assigned one or more proxy votes, if the member holds a proxy with no voting instructions, the National Returning Officer will assume that the proxy vote will be identical to that of the member holding the proxy. Accordingly, the proxy vote will be automatically added to the voting member’s vote via Election Runner.
• For proxy votes with specific voting instructions, the National Returning Officer will add these proxy votes to the Election Runner results manually in accordance with the voting directions listed on the proxy form.

All proxy forms must be submitted electronically to the National Returning Officer by e-mail to returningofficer@aala.org.au by 6pm AEDST / 5.30pm ACDST / 5pm AEST / 3pm AWST on 25 November 2020 to be valid.

National AGM rules and moderation

Please note the following National AGM rules:

• If you are attending in person and wish to speak, please raise your hand.
• If you are attending online and wish to speak, please click the “Participants” button at the bottom of the Zoom window and use the “Raise Hand” function.
• If you are attending online, please mute your microphone if you are not speaking.

Please be respectful and polite during your attendance at the National AGM. This includes verbal communication during the National AGM and any use of the Zoom chat function. The National AGM is moderated by the National AGM Chair.

Kind regards

Matt Floro

AALA National Secretary

The ACT Law Society has heralded the establishment of the AALA ACT Branch in its e-bulletin "Hearsay" Mon, 9 Nov 2020. 

The Asian Australian Lawyers Association is very proud to announce the establishment of the ACT Branch, with executive members Veer Dhaliwal (President), Rahul Bedi (Vice President) and Pei Chow (Secretary). For bios of the ACT Branch Executive and Committee go to

The ACT Branch is looking forward to bringing a focus in the local community on the growing number of Asian Australian Lawyers in the profession as well as other lawyers, like minded professionals, departments and businesses with a keen interest in Asia.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact the ACT AALA Executive at:

Read full article

ACT members should note the 2020 ACT Branch Meeting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday 24 November 2020 online via zoom to register

Dowry and coercive control issues must be better addressed

By Jerome Doraisamy, Lawyers Weekly, 19 November 2020

Australian law is currently falling short in effectively dealing with domestic issues afflicting culturally diverse or minority communities, argue two advocates.

In the words of Pallavi Sinha, “the law sets the standard for what is or is not acceptable in society”. Unfortunately, when it comes to dowries and coercive control, there are currently insufficient mechanisms in the Australian justice system to address issues that give rise to domestic and family violence in culturally diverse communities.

Insufficient mechanisms

A dowry, Molina Asthana explained, is the transfer of money, property or gifts from a woman’s family to her husband upon marriage. The practice is common across South Asian, South-East Asian, Chinese, African and Middle Eastern countries and global communities. Australian law does not currently have the requisite mechanisms to address dowry-related violence, she said.

“Two of the biggest challenges this creates is that the Family Law Act does not adequately or consistently enable victims of dowry abuse to recover dowry provided by the victim or their family in the event of divorce proceedings, including those gifts exchanged in other jurisdictions and for it to be factored into property settlements during separation and divorce, to be recognised as property (typically belonging to the woman),” said Ms Asthana, who is the new vice-president of the Law Institute of Victoria and the vice-president of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association.

Read full article

Concerns raised over Senate diaspora inquiry, by Tony Zhang, 11 November 2020, Lawyers Weekly 

Community bodies and advocates have raised concerns over questions asked of three witnesses who appeared before the Senate foreign affairs, defence and trade references committee at a hearing concerning “issues facing diaspora communities in Australia”.

Last week, the Senate committee examining issues facing diaspora communities in Australia heard from Yun Jiang, Osmond Chiu and Wesa Chau, who told the inquiry many Chinese Australians feel intimidated in speaking out on issues concerning their community and their country.

Following their opening statements, Hansard records that the following question was put to the three witnesses with Chinese/East Asian-sounding names by a member of the committee: “(c)an I ask each of the three witnesses to very briefly tell me whether they are willing to unconditionally condemn the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship? It’s not a difficult question”.

The AALA stated it is not apparent that the same, or similar, question was put to any other witness appearing before the committee.

Molina Asthana, national vice-president of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association said the AALA supports the right of all Australians (including their elected representatives) to free speech perhaps more so in Parliament or in parliamentary committees.

“However, we strongly advocate that all members of the Australian community should be accorded with the core Australian values of natural justice, fairness, equality and a ‘fair go’; and that persons of Asian ancestry (or any other ancestry) are not subjected to processes and inquiries inconsistent with those values in Australian public life and before any governmental and representative bodies,” the AALA stated.

Q&A covered the issue. Here's a facebook link to the question put by Osmond Chiu and the response by Jan Fran.