Elizabeth Brumby

Elizabeth (BA, BCom, JD (Melb), LLM (Cantab)) is a barrister at the Victorian Bar in Melbourne, Australia. She practises primarily in public and commercial law, including constitutional and administrative law, general commercial disputes, and corporations, competition and consumer law. 

In her public law practice, Elizabeth has particular expertise in cases involving non-citizens who are administratively detained, and has acted both for and against government in a range of significant cases involving, for example, citizenship cessation due to terrorism offending and other criminal offending, visa cancellation due to serious offending or adverse security assessments, visa refusal on national interest grounds, and allegations of negligence and misfeasance in public office in connection with administrative decision-making. She also advises the Victorian government in relation to complex matters of statutory interpretation and compatibility of government action with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), including as junior counsel to the Solicitor-General for Victoria and Crown Counsel for Victoria. A list of her recent cases can be viewed here. 

Elizabeth’s academic interests are broadly in this field, particularly the intersection of constitutional and migration law. During her time as a Research Visitor at the Institute, Elizabeth will explore the evolving judicial treatment of executive or legislative ‘punishment’ in constitutional jurisprudence across common law jurisdictions, including as a means of protecting human rights in jurisdictions such as Australia, which lacks specifically enshrined constitutional rights or a legislated national bill of rights.