A message from Professor Andrew O’Neil

A message from the Executive Dean of Law and Business Professor Andrew O'Neil.

The Faculty of Law and Business is committed to delivering the highest quality education and research outcomes to advance knowledge, uphold human dignity, and create positive social, economic, and environmental impact for the common good. Inspired by the courage and ethical leadership of Saint Peter Faber and Thomas More, the Faculty synthesises academic excellence and impactful partnerships in pursuit of ACU's broader mission.

The 11th Annual Barry O'Keefe Lecture was held in April at the MacKillop Campus in North Sydney. This year's lecture was delivered by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Stephen Gageler AC, on the theme of 'The mind of the body politic: Legislative action and legislative intention'. The Barry O'Keefe Lecture is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of law students, and I had the privilege of presenting faculty commendation awards to 24 student recipients. The Colin Biggers and Paisely Lawyers Prize was awarded to Kashish Madhani for National First Place in Land Law for 2024, and the Prize for National First Place in Commercial Law was awarded to Jemilah Kleinitz Lister. Recipients of the 2025 Carla Todaro Memorial Scholarship - Demi Spiteri, Kashish Madhani and Cameo Porecca - were also recognised.

In May, faculty colleagues Dr Murooj Yousef, Professor Joy Parkinson, Dr Alex Campbell, Dr Stefani Vasil and Associate Professor Kate Letheren were awarded $150,000 from VicHealth for their research project titled: 'Engage, Educate, Empower: A Gamified Campus Initiative Against Vaping'. The project will deliver a co-designed, gamified vaping prevention initiative for university students aged 17 - 24 across ACU's Victorian campuses, with a focus on those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, from low socio-economic backgrounds, and regional communities who are at higher risk of harm.

In other research news, Dr Juan Diaz-Granados has co-authored (with Benedict Sheehy), a newly released book, Law the Sharing Economy, and Platform Technology Businesses published by Edward Elgar. The book proposes a change to the fabric of the legal system to include regulatory design to meet the triangular legal structure of platform-based businesses. Father Frank Brennan SJ AO, Adjunct Professor with the Thomas More Law School, has authored a two-volume study of the articles and speeches of the 10th Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Sir Gerard Brennan. Published by Connor Court and forthcoming in July-August, this work informs the public about the values and judicial reasoning that informed Sir Gerard's work, including the lead judgment in Mabo.

With the second half of 2025 rapidly approaching, the Faculty of Law and Business is looking ahead to a range of exciting initiatives, including launching the new Bachelor of Business, widening the impact of Executive Forum roundtables through the Governance and Public Affairs Centre, deepening industry and social enterprise engagement through projects led by Co-Lab, and developing a joint postgraduate program with the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy.

I look forward to providing further updates as our faculty continues to deliver on its core commitments.