Programme at 9 July 2021
The conference will run from Monday 12 to Friday 16 July 2021. Please note that the programme is subject to change.
Please refer here to see a message from the Chair regarding the conference programme.
Day 1 - Monday 12 2021
| Session | Session name | Moderator | Speakers |
| Opening Session | Opening of the World Congress: The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights | Not required | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |
| Welcome | Welcome to Presenters and Delegates: Deputy Commissioner Operations, Brett Pointing APM, Australian Federal Police | Brett Pointing, Deputy Commissioner Operations, Australian Federal Police | |
| Welcome to Presenters and Delegates: President Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore | President Halimah Yacob, President of the Republic of Singapore | ||
| Synopsis | The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights provides an overview of the itinerary for Day 1 | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC | |
| Session 1 | Opening session: Envisioning Family Justice through the Eyes of a Child | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC | The Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon |
| Session 2 | Harmonisation of the Australian Family Court: The Amalgamation Including Dynamic Response to Domestic Violence and Covid – Best Practices | Not required |
The Honourable Chief Justice William Alstergren QC, Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia |
| Session 3 | Family Justice in Singapore – A Defining Moment |
District Judge Chia Wee Kiat, Deputy Presiding Judge, Family Justice Courts |
Justice Debbie Ong, Presiding Judge, Family Justice Courts, Singapore
District Judge Yarni Loi, Family Justice Courts, Singapore District Judge Darryl Soh, Family Justice Courts. Singapore Ms Leong Shengyu, Senior Court Family Specialist, Family Justice Courts, Singapore |
| Session 4 | Marriage Dispensation Cases in Indonesia and Malaysia – Determining the Best Interests of the Child |
Cate Sumner, Senior Adviser, Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice |
Fitria Villa Sahara, Co-Director Pemberdayaan Perempuan Kepala Keluarga (PEKKA), Female-Headed Family Empowerment Organisation
Leisha Lister, Senior Adviser, Australia Indonesia Partnership for Justice Dato’ Setia Dr. Mohd. Na’im Mokhtar, Chief Judge of the Syariah Court of Malaysia Justice Judy Ryan, Appeal Division, Family Court of Australia |
Day 2 - Tuesday 13 2021
| Session | Session name | Moderator | Speakers |
| Opening Session:
Welcome Law Enforcement Stream |
Law Enforcement Stream: Welcome to Presenters and Delegates | Not required | Lesa Gale, Assistant Commissioner Northern Command, Australian Federal Police , Australia |
| Session 1 | AFP1: Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention Efforts Through Education in Schools | Sally Nicholes, Managing Partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers, Australia | Dannielle Kelly, Prevention and Engagement, Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation, Australia
Carol Ronken, Director of Research, Bravehearts, Australia Simone McKeough, Online Child Safety, Australian Federal Police |
| Session 2 | AFP2: The Important Role of Collaboration and Coordination in the Fight Against Online Child Sexual Exploitation | Mr Phil Shepherd, Director, Active Leadership, Australia | Mr Toby Dagg, Head of Investigations for the Australian Government eSafety Commissioner, Australia
Hilda Sirec, Commander, Child Protection and Human Trafficking, Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), Australia Michelle DeLaune, National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Australia |
| Session 3 | AFP3: Theme: The role of the Financial Sector in Online Child Sexual Exploitation Investigations | Don Lowe, Principal, Humanoeuvre, Australia | Bindu Sharma, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), Asia Pacific
Markus Erikson, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) Ms Sarah Napier, Principal Research Analyst, Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia |
| Session 4 |
International Justice Mission: Child Protective Strategies in Prosecuting Online Sexual Exploitation of Children |
Not required |
Atty. Maria Laarni Sheila S. Guico, Senior Lead, Prosecution Development, International Justice Mission, Philippines |
Day 3 - Wednesday 14 2021
| Session | Session name | Moderator | Speakers |
| Synopsis | The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights provides an overview of the itinerary for Day 3 | Not required | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |
| Session 1 | AFP 4: The family Left Behind | Phil Shepherd, Active Leadership, Australia | Sonya Ryan, Carly Ryan Foundation, Australia
Jarryd Dunbar, Detective Sergeant, Case Officer for Operation Ascalon, Australian Federal Police Natalie Walker, Founder & CEO, PartnerSPEAK, Australia |
| Session 2 | AFP 5: Human Trafficking: The Challenges and Approaches to Combat Them | Hilda Sirec, Commander, Child Protection and Human Trafficking, Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), Australia | Paula Hudson, Detective Superintendent , Child Protection and Human Trafficking Operations, Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), Australian Federal Police, Australia
Andrew Perkins, Detective Superintendent, International Command (Philippines), Australian Federal Police, Australia Jordyn Francis, Executive Support, Australian Centre To Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), Australia |
| Session 3 | Hearing from Children | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC | Professor Rachel Birnbaum, Ph.D., RSW, LL.M, King’s University College at Western, London, Ontario, Canada
Professor Marilyn Freeman PhD, Co-Director, International Centre for Family Law Policy and Practice, and Principal Research Fellow, University of Westminster, London, England Professor Nicola Taylor, Director, Children’s Issues Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Otago, New Zealand Ann Thomas,Managing Partner, The International Family Law Group LLP, United Kingdom |
| Session 4 |
Tommy Short Film |
Robert A. Simon, Ph.D., Forensic Psychology Consulting, San Diego, CA & Maui, HI. |
Dr Philip Stahl, Forensic Psychologist, United States Darren Mort, Barrister, Mediator & Arbitrator, Producer, Author, Actor, Australia |
| Session 5 |
Sport as a Vehicle to Promote and Educate about Gender Equality and Family Violence |
Sally Nicholes, Managing Partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers, Australia |
Sarah Davies AM, CEO of Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Australia Alicia Eva, AFLW Captain, Greater Western Sydney Giants, Australia Tanya Hosch, EGM Inclusion and Social Policy at the AFL, Australia Tim North QC, Barrister, Victorian Bar, Australia |
Day 4 - Thursday 15 2021
| Session | Session name | Moderator | Speakers |
| Synopsis | The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights provides an overview of the itinerary for Day 4 | Not required | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |
| Session 1 | Identity Theft – How I Discovered My Secret Identity, and the Rights of Donor Conceived Children | Sally Nicholes, Managing Partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers | Albert Frantz, pianist, Austria
Damon Martin, Deputy CEO, International Social Service Australia Fiona Darroch, Clinical Psychologist/ Single Expert, The Relationspace Keturah Sageman, Senior partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers, Australia |
| Session 2 |
Gender Based Violence |
Leisha Lister, Board Member, World Congress on Family Law & Children’s Rights | Part one: Sohaila Abdulali, Author Part two: |
| Session 3 | Age of Criminal Responsibility in Australia |
The Honourable Alastair Nicholson AO, RFD, QC |
Paul Grant
Liana Buchanan, Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People Justin Mohamed, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People of Victoria, Australia |
| Session 4 |
Gender Determination – The Tavistock Decision and its Implications |
The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |
Eleanor Lau, Partner, Lander & Rogers, Australia Sarah Phillimore, Barrister St John’s Chambers Bristol, United Kingdom |
Day 5 - Friday 16 2021
| Session | Session name | Moderator | Speakers |
| Synopsis | The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights provides an overview of the itinerary for Day 5 | Not required | The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |
| Session 1 |
Hague Abduction Convention and the 1996 Convention |
The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC | Dr Gérardine Goh Escolar, First Secretary, Hague Conference on Private International Law
Philippe Lortie, First Secretary, Hague Conference on Private International Law Amanda Humphreys, BA LLB (Hons), Special Counsel, Accredited Family Law Specialist, Taussig Cherrie Fildes, Australia |
| Session 2 |
Worldwide Family Mediation |
Prof David Hodson OBE MCIArb, Solicitor, mediator and arbitrator, England and Australia | Prof David Hodson OBE MCIArb, Solicitor, mediator and arbitrator, England and Australia
Dr Anna Nylund, Professor of Law, University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (Norway) David Truex, Barrister and Solicitor (Australia), NMAS Accredited Mediator, AIFLAM Accredited Arbitrator, Accredited Specialist Family Lawyer (England and Wales) Dr Esther Erlings, Lecturer in Law, Flinders University, Australia |
| Session 3 | Intractable and Complex Cases |
Stephen Parker Professor Lauren Devine |
|
| Session 4 |
The experience of Children’s Rights International in association with Legal Aid Cambodia: Assisting the Cambodian Government to Promote the Rights of Cambodian Children |
The Honourable Alastair Nicholson AO, RFD, QC |
Part one: Her Excellency Sotheavy Chan Monika Var (translator) Part two: Professor Sue Marshall |
| Session 5 |
Companies as Weapons in the Commission of Domestic and Family Violence: Concealing Legal Systems Abuse Behind the Corporate Veil |
Keturah Sageman, Senior Partner, Nicholes Family Lawyers, Australia |
Dr Eamonn Kelly, Barrister, Victorian Bar, Australia Catherine Giles, Senior Associate, Nicholes Family Lawyers, Australia |
| Final Adress |
Closing of the World Congress: The Hon Diana Bryant AO, QC, Chair of World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights |
Not required |
The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC |