Thank you for a phenomenal competition!
The Sir Harry Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot will be back at the ANU in 2026! Stay tuned for further details! Until then, check out the highlights from this year’s Moot below!
A thank you to our sponsor
The 2026 Sir Harry Gibbs Constitutional Law Moot would not have been possible without the support of the Australian Government Solicitor!
As the Australian Government’s central legal service, AGS is a centre of excellence and expertise in areas of law of importance to the Commonwealth.
AGS lawyers are specialists in constitutional and public law, statutory interpretation and the development, implementation and administration of legislation. As well as providing constitutional advice, AGS acts for the Commonwealth in constitutional litigation and coordinates the conduct of other cases involving constitutional issues.
With offices in every capital city, and a large legal practice that covers some 40 different areas of law related to government, AGS is one of Australia's largest national legal services providers.
Learn more about working at AGS, including the Graduate Program, by visiting the careers page on the AGS website.
We thank AGS for their generous support in making this year’s competition possible.
Thank you to our judges!
The Gibbs Moot would not be possible without the generous time and effort of our fantastic judges. The ANU Law Students’ Society extends its sincere thanks:
The Hon. Justice Jagot, High Court of Australia
Andrew Buckland KC, Chief General Counsel, Australian Government Solicitor (AGS)
Guy Aitken QC, fmr Chief General Counsel, AGS
James Sheller SC, New Chambers
Allan Anforth AM, Canberra Chambers
Nicola Alroe, New Chambers
Prue Bindon, Key Chambers & President of the ACT Bar Association
Meredith Leigh, First Parliamentary Counsel
Peter Woulfe, Blackburn Chambers
Will Bateman, ANU College of Law, Governance and Public Policy
Robyn Briese, AGS
Flyn Wells, AGS
Georgia Crocker, AGS
Vishal Karna, AGS
Ellen French, AGS
Rose Mackie, AGS
Will Randles, AGS
Chloe Tuazon, Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC)
Nina Ding, OPC
Cameron Ahmadi, Tipstaff, Supreme Court of New South Wales
Kevin Ahmadi, Tipstaff, Supreme Court of New South Wales
Catherine Bugler, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Richard Cooper, Office of Constitutional Law (OCL)
Dylan Lloyd, OCL
David Ferrell, Jones Day
Ben Ye, Counsel Assisting the Solicitor General for Victoria
Alice Tilleard, Thomson Geer
James Byod-Clarke
Kai Mitchell
Sachin Sirkari
Alex Bako
2025 Problem
The ANU Law Students’ Society extends our sincere appreciation to Dr Stephen Donaghue KC, the Solicitor General of Australia, for all his efforts in drafting this year’s problem question.
In response to tragic drug overdoses at music festivals, Parliament has enacted the Drug Enforcement at Territory Events and Raves Act 2025 (DETER Act), granting police sweeping search powers at Territory music events.
Senator Ronald Swanson - a vocal opponent of the legislation who later became Environment Minister - attended a festival and refused police demands to hand over his phone during a search. After being subjected to a strip search, Senator Swanson walked away from the scene and was subsequently convicted under the Act, though he received only a good behaviour bond.
The Opposition-controlled Senate has declared his seat vacant due to the criminal conviction, but the Government disputes this determination, maintaining Senator Swanson's legitimacy as both Senator and Minister.
Sir Andrew Dwyer has challenged an environmental decision made by Senator Swanson, arguing the Minister lacked valid authority to act.
The High Court must now determine whether the DETER Act violates the separation of powers under Chapter III of the Constitution, whether the Court can review Parliament's own vacancy determinations, and whether Senator Swanson's parliamentary seat truly became vacant.
Congratulations to our award winners!
AGS Gibbs Moot Champions - The University of Queensland (Leon Natus, Bianca Leathers, Charlie Hoare, Advitya Arora, William Simmons [Coach])
Runners Up - The Australian National University (Felix Archibald, Daniel Marns, Aislinn D’Arcy, Maddy Sloane, Andrew Ray [Coach])
Best Speaker in the Grand Finals - Leon Natus, the University of Queensland
Best Speaker in the Preliminary Rounds - Jasper Madsen, the University of Tasmania
Best Plaintiff Submissions - The University of Melbourne (Jacinta Speer, Elena Murphy, Rory Davison, Alex Lee [Coach])
Best Defendant Submissions - The Australian National University
Darryl Kerrigan Spirit of the Moot Award - The University of Western Sydney (Bella Nash, Emily Rough, Shreeya Smith [Coach])