Professor Ian Freckelton will deliver the 2026 Carney Public Lecture on developments in coronial law and practice, with responses from Sarouche Razi and Danielle Captain-Webb.
Date: Wednesday 4 November 6-7.30pm, with refreshments to follow the lecture
Venue: IN PERSON at the University of Sydney Law School, Law Lounge, Level 1, New Law Building Annexe (F10A), University of Sydney, Camperdown NSW
Register: Eventbrite
Lecture preview
The inquisitorial jurisdiction of the Coroner has had at its heart a preventative role from at least the 13th century. However, its prophylactic role with coroners functioning in part as public health officials has taken on a distinctively activist trajectory in Australia and New Zealand over the past quarter of a century. This, together with a new responsiveness to human rights issues, has given coronership a fillip that has invested it with a contemporary relevance that it was at risk of losing with a proliferation of death investigation bodies. Coroners’ inquests have now become an integral part of enhancing public health and safety, along with investigating the causes and circumstances of avoidable tragedies. An important part of this is the formulation of what originally were termed riders on the inquisition but now are framed as recommendations and comments in coronial legislation that continues to evolve around Australasia. Coroners’ decisions are both published on court websites, albeit with inconsistent levels of searchability, and in many instances must be responded to by the entities in respect of which coroners have advanced proposals for change.
This address reviews the directions of evolving coronial law and practice, drawing upon high profile cases, and reflects upon the public interest dynamics that are likely to enliven and further empower the jurisdiction in the years ahead.
Chair
Dr Christopher Rudge will chair this event.
Responders
- Sarouche Razi, Lecturer, The University of Sydney Law School
- Danielle Captain-Webb, Solicitor Advocate, NSW Legal Aid, and First Nations Practitioner in Residence, The University of Sydney Law School
About the speakers
Ian Freckelton
Ian Freckelton is a King’s Counsel in full-time practice as a barrister throughout Australia. He took silk in 2007. His practice is trial, appellate and advisory. He is listed by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in Administrative Law, Government Law, Commercial Law and Personal Injury Law and has received awards for pro bono representation of indigent clients.
Since 2017 he has been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru and he has been a member of 11 decision-making tribunals at both Commonwealth and State level, currently including the Administrative Review Tribunal. From 2010 he has been a member of Victoria’s Coronial Council.
Ian has appeared in many of Australia’s best known coronial inquests over the past 30 years, including the Lindt Café inquest, the Bourke Street Mall inquest, the Kumanjayi Walker and White inquests, the Wieambilla inquest, the Bondi Junction inquest, and the Kew Cottages Inquest.
Ian holds doctoral qualifications from Griffith University and the University of Melbourne, and obtained his undergraduate qualifications from the University of Sydney. He is a Professor of Law and Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, and an Honorary Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. He holds adjunct professorial appointments at universities in New Zealand, Queensland and New South Wales. He is the Editor of the Journal of Law and Medicine and the Founding Editor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law.
Ian is an elected Fellow of three of Australia’s learned Academies: The Academies of Law, Health and Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Australasian College of Legal Medicine. He is also a Governor of the World Association for Medical Law. Ian was also a Commissioner at the Victorian Law Reform Commission, leading its reference on Medicinal Cannabis. He is the author of over 850 articles and chapters of books, as well as more than 50 books, including Australian Uniform Evidence Law: Principles and Context (with Bellew et al, LexisNexis, 2026); Expert Evidence: Law, Practice Procedure & Advocacy (7th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2024), COVID-19 and the Law (OUP 2023), and Australian Public Health Law (Federation Press, 2023). With David Ranson, he is currently finalising a new edition of Coronial Law and Medicine, and is also completing books on Automatism with co-authors in England, Sweden and New Zealand, and Health Practitioner Regulation with Arie Freiberg. In 2021 Ian was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the law and the legal profession, across fields including health, science and technology, and in 2024 he was awarded its highest honour by the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, the Prix Philippe Pinel.
Sarouche Razi
Sarouche Razi is a lecturer at Sydney Law School with a focus on critical legal theory and social justice legal practice. Sarouche is also Strategy Lead for the NSW Legal Assistance Forum. Sarouche has practiced in community legal centres and Aboriginal legal services, and his practice background is in coronial inquests, state accountability, and broader civil practice. Sarouche is currently working on an edited collection on the future of lawyering, adjudication and legal education (2027), and a research handbook on race, gender, and law (2028).
Danielle Captain-Webb
Danielle Captain-Webb is a Wiradjuri and Gomeroi Woman who was born and raised on Darkinjung Country. Danielle commenced as the First Nations Practitioner in Residence at Sydney University Law School in February 2025, and also holds the position of Solicitor Advocate in the Coronial Inquest Unit at Legal Aid NSW. She has extensive experience advocating, representing and leading change in the justice system – particularly, but not limited to the criminal justice and coronial inquest jurisdictions. In 2024, she completed a Masters of Social Change Leadership with Melbourne University as part of the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity, with her project focusing on reimagining the coronial inquest system in NSW for Aboriginal people, families and communities to ensure truth, healing and justice. She has also completed a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from The College of Law and has been admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a Solicitor. In 2023, she completed a Masters of Business Administration (MBAX) – Social Impact at UNSW.
Christopher Rudge
Christopher Rudge is a sociolegal scholar and lecturer at Sydney Law School and Deputy Director of Sydney Health Law. His research lies at the intersection of health law, regulation, bioethics and social welfare, with a particular focus on the governance of emerging medical technologies, innovative treatments and civil and political rights.
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