An ANZAPPL Vic soirée with Michael Stanton SC New federal and state laws have been introduced intending to protect vulnerable groups and individuals against hate speech. While many in the community have advocated for these kinds of reforms, there is growing disquiet that these new laws could be weaponised and may in fact have a chilling effect on legitimate political expression and protest rights. At the Federal level, some of these new hate speech offences now attract mandatory imprisonment. Further, the evolution of these laws has demonstrated a concerning lack of consolation with affected communities who have warned of unintended consequences. The laws have now expanded to a point where there is a real issue as to whether they will be arbitrarily applied and whether they undermine a fundamental principle of the rule of law: that laws be certain and applied equally.  Michael Stanton SC is a criminal lawyer with a strong focus on civil liberties and human rights and is the Immediate Past President of Liberty Victoria. In this presentation, he will give a brief survey of the new landscape of anti-vilification laws and consider some of the difficulties with attempting to prohibit hate speech. Tickets are essential. Please click here to register.

The nexus between mental health and the law: a discussion lead by a panel of professionals recognised as leaders in their fields of the ethical and not-so-ethical practice of practitioners in psychiatry, psychology and law.  This event is a collaboration between The Piddington Society and the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (ANZAPPL).  The presenters are:  The Hon Justice Kate Glancy (President, State Administrative Tribunal). The Tribunal deals with allegations of ethical breaches by psychologists, doctors and lawyers, among others.  His Honour Judge Craig Astill (District Court of Western Australia). Prior to his appointment, Judge Astill was a prosecutor and defence lawyer who regularly worked with mental health professionals during the course of matters.  Dr Katinka Morton is a child and adolescent and consultant forensic psychiatrist who is a Member of the Western Australian Board of the Medical Board of Australia.  Dr Sophie Davison is the Chief Psychiatrist for the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged care.  Dr Greg Dear is a psychologist with decades of experience in criminal and family law matters and in academia. Following his recent retirement, he continues to undertake academic research and supervision in this area.  Attendees will be eligible for 1 CPD point.  Registration Registration is essential. Click here to register. ANZAPPL WA members can get a discount on this event by using the code 'PPL25' at checkout. CPD Practitioner ID numbers are issued by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia. Information from the Board is available here. We require these to issue CPD certificates. If you do not provide us with one then we may contact you following the event.  Proceeds from all Piddington activities go toward our access to justice projects. These are: the Piddington PLT Fund, which supports the CLCs that host Piddington PLT graduates to complete their hours required for admission; the Piddington Justice Fund for CLCs, to cover costs that they otherwise cannot meet; and, Kaartdijin, our First Nations Legal Education Fund. We also fund the Christine Wheeler Scholarship and John Chaney Award for new law graduates and law students. Annually we are able to make contributions of more than $50,000 to the community through these projects.

One of the most challenging aspects of working in forensic contexts is responding to behaviours that have the potential to cause significant harm (e.g., violence, threats, harmful sexual behaviour, stalking). To work effectively with such clients, professionals need to be able to formulate the client’s behaviour; i.e. understand and explain the behaviour and harm potential, and use knowledge this to guide risk management and intervention. Formulation of problem behaviour is particularly important in cases where there are multiple interacting comorbidities and co-occurring biopsychosocial challenges; in client groups with whom it can be difficult to establish a rapport; and in cases where there is a high risk of inconsistent management across agencies and over time.  The aim of this workshop is to teach a method of formulating problematic and potentially harmful client behaviour that goes beyond the application of structured risk assessment guides. The workshop will involve both didactic learning and case study-based practice. Participants will finish the workshop with a framework for formulation that they can use to understand and communicate about concerning client behaviour, and to shape risk reduction and intervention efforts.  This workshop is intended for health and human services professionals who are keen build their ability to work with clients who present with problematic and potentially harmful behaviour towards others. Facilitator This workshop will be lead by Professor Troy McEwan, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University.  Troy's research interests focus on improving understanding, assessment, and treatment of problem behaviour, with a particular interest in stalking, intimate partner and family violence, and deliberate firesetting. She has expertise in the development and evaluation of risk assessment instruments for these and other behaviours such as violence and sexual offending. In addition to her research role, Troy is a clinical and forensic psychologist who has worked in both inpatient and community forensic mental health settings since 2008. She continues her clinical practice as a Principal Psychologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare). Troy is the director of Swinburne's postgraduate forensic psychology research and training degrees, teaching into the Doctor of Psychology (Clinical and Forensic) and the Graduate Diploma in Forensic Psychology and coordinating industry placements for these degrees. Troy also provides regular education and training to practitioners in the fields of mental health, criminal justice, and social services around Australia and internationally. She is the Immediate Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, and sits on the editorial boards of the journals Criminal Justice and Behavior, Journal of Family Violence, and the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management. Registration Registration includes morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. Non-ANZAPPL Members: $350 ANZAPPL Members: $300 Please click here to register.

The 2024 Annual General Meeting of ANZAPPL Victoria will be held at 5.00pm AEDT on Friday 22 November 2024, at Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, and via Zoom. Please click here for relevant forms.

The 44th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Association will take place at ​5pm on Thursday, 21st November 2024 at the ANZAPPL Congress, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Victoria and via Zoom. Proxies may be submitted using the appropriate form provided in conjunction with this Notice. AGENDA 1.Circulate attendance list for signing 2.Welcome by ANZAPPL President, Amber Fougere 3.Apologies and proxies 4.Confirmation of minutes for the 43rd Annual General Meeting 5.President’s report 6.Secretary’s Report 7.Treasurer’s report 8.Journal Editor’s report 9.Website and media report 10.Election of officers 10.1 Nominations for and election of President 10.2 Nominations for and election of President-Elect. 10.3 Nominations for and election of Treasurer. 10.4 Nominations for and election of Assistant Treasurer. 10.5 Nominations for and election of Secretary. 10.6 Nominations for and election of Assistant Secretary. 10.7 Nominations for and election of Student Representative. 10.8 Nominations for and election of Ordinary Members. [(Under Clause 50 of the Constitution, separate elections must be held for each of the positions of (a) President; (b) President-Elect; (c) Secretary; and (d) Treasurer. Under Clause 51, a single election may be held to appoint the other members with the exception of immediate Past President] 11.Branch reports 12.Any other business 12.1 Motions requiring members decisions:

Join us in Melbourne this November for the 42nd Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law Annual Congress. We are looking forward to welcoming you to connect and network in the vibrant atmosphere of Melbourne, a city known for its thriving culture, dynamic dining scene, and world-class art and music. Registration for Congress is now open! Early bird rates are available until 20 September 2024. Click here to register. Our program will cover a range of topics relating to the challenges of validity in an ever-evolving landscape. We will explore issues relating to technology, memory, impression management, and more, offering insights into the future of work at the interface of psychology, psychiatry, and the law. Don’t miss out on information-packed sessions that will promise to enrich your knowledge, and opportunities to connect with practitioners and researchers from across Australia and New Zealand. For further details please visit the dedicated Congress website.

Topics to be discussed: The implementation of AI in sentencing faces several challenges, including the quality and transparency of judicial data, and potential biases in AI training. We propose a new way of using AI in sentencing that addresses many (but not all) of those challenges. We use the unique structure of the Indonesian Corruption Sentencing Guidelines as an example to clarify how this may work. Our suggested approach is based on Machine Learning and not language models (e.g. ChatGPT).   Dr Armin Alimardani is a Lecturer in Law and Emerging Technologies at the School of Law at the University of Wollongong (UOW). His publications and talks focus on the social, ethical and legal impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Neuro technologies and genetics. As part of his commitment to shaping the responsible use of AI, Armin is part of the UOW AI Expert Group that consults the University on AI policies, ensuring that the institution's approach to AI is informed by the latest research and ethical considerations. Armin’s current projects include the potential use of AI in sentencing (collaboration with the University of Brawijaya), the impact of technology on shaping the future of the legal profession (collaboration with Deakin University), the use of natural language models in education and research (collaboration with UNSW), benchmarking Language Models (collaboration with OpenAI). This webinar is free to attend for ANZAPPL members. Please click here to register.

In 2022, Western Australia Police commenced using the Australian Child Abuse Classification System to categorise Child Exploitation Material (CEM). In addition to changing the system of classification, WA Police also adopted a policy whereby the quantity of CEM that would be manually analysed per device was limited. There are clearly implications for the prosecution and sentencing of these types of matters.   Dr Jane Tudor-Owen will chair this lively panel.  Jane is a State Prosecutor at the Office of the Director or Public Prosecutions (WA). Prior to commencing at the Office in 2021, they taught across the disciplines of criminology, law, and social work at Edith Cowan University in various capacities between 2012 - 2021, completing their PhD on police interviewing in 2016. Since commencing at the ODPP, they have appeared as counsel for the State at hearings in the Magistrates Court, District Court, and most recently, the Children’s Court.   In this session, Gemma Beggs (Senior State Prosecutor, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions) will discuss the way in which the ODPP approaches prosecutions under the new system and Tony Hager (Barrister, Geoffrey Miller Chambers) will discuss the implications for an accused person both in defending a charge and in sentencing. Dr James McCue (Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Helen Fowler and Associates) will explore some of issues that arise in conducting psychological assessments and preparing associated reports in light of the limited samples that are now provided, and his Honour Judge Craig Astill, will explore ramifications for the sentencing of offences relating to CEM.  Please click here to register.

This full-day training workshop will be delivered across two sessions: Morning session: Forensic risk assessment - the added value of the psycho-dynamic risk factor Afternoon session: A new perspective on violence: primitive mental states Registration Non-ANZAPPL Members: $350 ANZAPPL Members: $300 Price includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. For further information about the event and to purchase tickets, please click here to register. Presenter Timothy Keogh PhD is a training and supervising analyst with the Australian Psychoanalytical Society (APAS) and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. He is the past President of APAS, founding President of the newly formed Australian Forensic Psychotherapy Association, a member of the IPA Violence Committee, Co-Chair (Asia-Pacific) of the International Psychoanalytical Association (IPA) Committee on Couple and Family Psychoanalysis (COFAP), and Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Australasian Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies (ACPP). Dr Keogh was previously Director of Inmate Services and Programs with the Department of Corrective Services (NSW) and also held other Director positions within that service. He has authored many articles on forensic psychotherapy, adolescent and sexual offending, and has written several books, including The Internal World of the Juvenile Sex Offender: Through a Glass Darkly then Face to Face, and Psychoanalytic Approaches to Loss (Mourning, Melancholia and Couples (Karnac). He is currently the senior editor of Psychoanalytic Approaches to Loss (Routledge) and Interpretation in Couple and Family Psychoanalysis (Routledge). Dr Keogh is also the President of Penthos (penthos.org.au - a psychoanalytic charity providing a brief intervention for parents experiencing prolonged grief).

In February and March 2023, Kate Bjur travelled to six countries and visited over 20 secure settings for young people as part of a Churchill Fellowship. In this presentation, Kate describes the common elements of the most successful youth detention centres she visited. Success is defined in many ways, including reduced offending after release, safer environments for young people and staff, higher staff retention and young people's increased connection to their families and the broader community. Examples of best contemporary practice include New York City's Close to Home Initiative, Spain's Diagrama Re-education Centres, Denmark's Youth Detention Centres and the State of Missouri's Division of Youth Services' Missouri Model. Based on the common features of these models, Kate will present a vision for therapeutic youth detention that includes elements such as change-oriented programming, engaging young people in meaningful activity, family therapy and leaves of absence for the purpose of reintegration. This model is most effective in smaller, home-like settings that are close to young people's families and communities. Kate Bjur is the General Manager, Policy, Research & Advocacy PeakCare Queensland. She has over 25 years’ experience working with and on behalf of children and young people in Japan, Canada, England and Australia. Her experience includes youth detention senior leadership, restorative practice, child safety policy, early childhood education, youth advocacy and family work. In 2023, Kate travelled around the world as part of a Churchill Fellowship project investigating best practice in youth crime prevention, gang exit strategies and therapeutic models of youth detention. Using this broad experience and international research, Kate is dedicated to advocating for children’s rights; hearing and amplifying the voices of children, young people and their families; and connecting government and non-government partners to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the child and family service system. Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese language and literature from the University of Queensland as well as post-graduate qualifications in the fields of Organisational Change Management, Community Services Work, Business, Early Childhood Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. This seminar is free for ANZAPPL members. Please click here to register.

Elle de Koning, Senior Policy Lawyer from the Mental Health Law Centre will discuss the long-awaited legislative reform of the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act 1996. The new Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023 is scheduled for commencement on 1 September 2024. The new Act changes the approach to dealing with mentally impaired accused across the forensic health and criminal justice systems. With reform on the horizon, this presentation will discuss the new law and what is means for current and future forensic patients. This even is free to attend but registration is essential. Click here to register.

Forensic evaluators have an ethical imperative to conduct culturally-informed assessments. Evaluators frequently express interest in learning more about how to effectively conduct culturally competent forensic mental health assessment (FMHA), but routinely note access to training and the lack of evidence-based guidelines as major challenges (Fanniff et al., 2022; Kois & Chauhan, 2016). A recent poll of experts in forensic psychology established 28 widely agreed upon practices for effectively incorporating cultural considerations in FMHA across seven phases of FMHA: (1) developing competence and ongoing tasks, (2) preparation from referral to initiation of evaluation, (3) practices for evaluations of examinees who have limited English proficiency, (4) rapport and communication, (5) data collection and assessment, (6) formulation, and (7) report writing (Fanniff et al., 2023). This seminar will discuss methods used to identify these practices, make concrete recommendations for how to incorporate these practices into forensic mental health assessments, and discuss how legal practitioners can determine whether an evaluation was conducted in a culturally-informed manner. Amanda Fanniff, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at Palo Alto University. She completed her doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in psychology, policy, and law at the University of Arizona and her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, a division of the University of South Florida. Her teaching since arriving at PAU in 2011 has primarily been in the forensic emphasis of PAU’s clinical psychology PhD program. Her research currently focuses on developmentally and culturally informed forensic mental health assessment; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in forensic psychology research and training; and the ways in which individuals with different sociocultural identities have different experiences in the criminal and juvenile legal systems. This event is free to attend for ANZAPPL members. Non-members may attend for $15. Please click here to register.

The Law Reform Commission’s recent reference, Project 113, examined issues and made recommendations to modernise and improve Western Australia’s sexual offence laws. Project 113 reviews matters such as the definition of consent, the circumstances in which there is no consent, the defence of mistaken belief in consent, the directions given by judges to juries in sexual offence trials, Western Australia’s substantive sexual offences and the maximum penalties for sexual offences. The Final Report for Project 113 was tabled in Parliament on 15 May 2024 and is available online at https://justice.wa.gov.au/lrcwa-project113 About the presenter The Hon Jenkins joined the Commission on 9 September 2020. She is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The Hon Jenkins has practiced law in multiple Australian jurisdictions since her admission to practice in 1982. From 1989-2001 she worked at the Western Australian Crown Solicitors office, holding several legal officer positions including Deputy Crown Counsel. She has appeared as counsel in all courts in WA, the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia. She was a member of the Model Criminal Code Committee from 1999-2001, with the Committee’s work forming the basis for what is now the Commonwealth Criminal Code. The Hon Jenkins served as a judge of the District Court of WA from 2001-2004 and judge of the Supreme Court of WA from 2004 to January 2020. She retired as the then longest serving judge in WA after presiding over civil and criminal matters in the jurisdiction for more than fifteen years. Click here to book tickets.

This presentation will cover: General overview of DSV-V eating disorder diagnoses including ARFID, OSFED, bigorexia/muscle dysmorphia, and custody-specific considerations How to identify and support your patients who have eating disorders symptoms (and how/why you might not have noticed until now) A novel way to understand ED presentations, development and treatments – examples from custody that just make sense. Overview of eating disorder treatment guidelines as per evidence-based practice, what these treatments have in common, and adaptation for use in custodial setting. How to use these learnings to incorporate common features of effective treatment into your practice to overcome common treatment obstacles   Presenter: Laurie Hopkins, born on Dharawal Country, has a background in acute care nursing, homeless health, alcohol & other drugs, sexual health, LGBTIQ health, immunology, mental health, and a previous career in botany and bush regeneration. They currently work for Justice Health NSW as Eating Disorder Coordinator and clinical nurse consultant, providing consultation-liaison services and leading the Justice Health NSW response to the NSW Service Plan for People with Eating Disorders. They are passionate about providing care to under-serviced populations and marginalised communities, and looking ‘outside the box’ to find simple solutions to what many view as complex problems. This seminar is free for ANZAPPL members. Please click here to register.

In this talk, Dr Takagi will discuss the complexities involved in the assessment and diagnosis of intellectual disability and acquired brain injury among forensic populations. He will illustrate these challenges using clinical case studies and discuss their implications for forensic practice. About the presenter Dr Michael Takagi is a senior clinical neuropsychologist at the Children’s Court Clinic (Children's Court of Victoria) and a Senior Lecturer at Monash University (School of Psychological Sciences). He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2008, investigating the neuropsychological and neurobiological impact of inhalant abuse during adolescence. He has worked with forensic populations since completing his clinical training in neuropsychology at the University of Melbourne in 2014, and has worked at the Children's Court Clinic for the past six years. Time and location This event will be held at Graduate House, 216-220 Leicester Street, Carlton VIC 3053. We warmly invite you to join us for canapés and drinks from 5:30 pm. The presentation will follow at 6:30 pm. Registration for this event is essential. Please click here to register.