Dr Michael Eburn
Associate Professor
15 June 2016
ANU College of Law
+61 2 6125 6424
[email protected]
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
www.anu.edu.au
CRICOS Provider No. 00120C
Curriculum Vitae
Dr Michael Eburn
I am Australia’s leading authority on legal issues relating to emergency services and Australia’s
emergency management arrangements. I have published extensively in the area and I am the chief
investigator on a Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC funded project on ‘Policies, Institutions and
Governance of Natural Hazards’.
I was admitted as a solicitor in NSW in 1988 and was ‘called to the Bar’ in 1991. I continue to hold a
practicing certificate as a Barrister in the ACT.
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Qualifications
Bachelor of Commerce (Economics)/Bachelor of Laws (UNSW, 1987)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours, Philosophy) (UNE, 1995)
Master of Laws (Newcastle, 1998)
Master of Professional Education and Training (Flexible, Online and Distance Education)
(Deakin, 2003)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Monash, 2009).
Post admission employment
I was first admitted as a legal practitioner in 1988. My post admission employment has been:
• 1989-1990; Waterford and Sligar, Solicitors, Coonamble NSW – general country practice
• 1991; NSW Health Legal Branch – advising the Department and the Minister;
• 1992-1994; NSW Bar – 15 Wardell Chambers, practice in personal injuries, workers compensation
and criminal law.
• 1994-2010; University of New England, Armidale. Teaching criminal law, advocacy, medico-legal
issues and other units. Except for one year, when I was employed one day a week as a solicitor
with the North and North West Community Legal Service, I continued to maintain a part time bar
practice in personal injuries and crime.
• 2010-present; Australian National University College of Law. Teaching units in personal injuries
compensation, disaster law and environmental law as well as mentoring students at the ANU’s
Legal Aid Clinic.
Projects and grants
I am the chief investigator on the Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC funded project on ‘Policies,
Institutions and Governance of Natural Hazards’ 2014-2016.
With Professor Stephen Dovers I have completed a three year funded Bushfire Cooperative Research
Centre project on Mainstreaming Fire and Emergency Management Across Legal and Policy Sectors:
Joint Research and Policy Learning. That project has contributed to learning and policy development
across the Australian emergency management sector.
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In 2010 I completed a study on Legal preparedness for international disaster response in Australia:
Laws, Policies, Planning and Practices which was published by the International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as part of their International Disaster Law project. I have recently
completed further work on that IDL project by contributing to a report on international progress in
implementing the Hyogo Framework for Action (International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies and UN Development Program, Effective law and regulation for disaster risk
reduction: a multi-country report (Geneva, 2014)).
Consultancies
I have provided consultancy services and in-service training to a number of government agencies and
peak bodies on issues to do with emergency management. Examples include:
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Bushfires NT
Country Fire Service, South Australia
Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Western Australia
Forest and Rural Firefighters Association, New Zealand
Local Government Insurance Service, Western Australia
NSW SES on behalf of the National Workshop on Preventing Deaths in Floods
NSW Rural Fire Service
Paramedics Australasia
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
Royal Australian Navy
Tasmania Fire Service
Transport for NSW
Other appointments/membership
• Visiting Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society.
• Affiliate, the Disaster Development Network, University of Northumbria (UK).
• Affiliate, Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University and GNS Science, Wellington (NZ).
Selected Publications
Books
1. Emergency Law: Rights, liabilities and duties of emergency workers and volunteers (1st ed
1999; 2nd ed 2005; 3rd ed 2010, 4th ed 2013; The Federation Press, Sydney).
2. Hayes and Eburn: Criminal Law and Procedure in NSW (with Robert Hayes, 1st ed 2002,
2nd ed 2005, 3rd ed, 2009; with Rod Howie and Paul Sattler, 4th ed, 2013, Lexis/Nexis
Butterworths).
3. Legal preparedness for international disaster response in Australia: Laws, Policies, Planning
and Practices (2010, International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,
Geneva).
4. Australia’s International Disaster Response: Laws, Rules and Principles (VDM Verlag, 2010).
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Book chapters
1. McDonald, F., Eburn, M. and Smith, E., ‘Legal and Ethical Aspects’ in Fitzgerald, G., Aitken,
P., Tarrant, M. and Fredriksen, M. (eds), Disaster Health Management: Primer for Students
and Practitioners (Routledge, at press).
2. 'The International Law of Wildfires' in Samuel, K and Breau S (eds) Research Handbook,
Disasters and International Law (Edward Elgar, at press).
3. 'Bushfires and Australian emergency management law and policy: Adapting to climate
change and the new fire and emergency management environment' in Burton, L and Sun, L
(eds) Cassandra’s Curse: Law and Foreseeable Future Disasters (Studies in Law, Politics
and Society; Elsevier, 2015).
4. ‘Managing ‘civil contingencies’ in Australia’ in Walker, C. (ed) Contingencies, Resilience and
Legal Constitutionalism (Routledge, 2015).
5. ‘Disaster Risk Reduction in the Shadow of the Law’ in Collins, A.E., Jones, S., Manyena, B.
and Jayawickrama, J. (eds) Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society (Hazards and
Disasters Series, Elsevier, 2015).
6. ‘Sharing responsibility and community resilience: The role of law in converting policy to action’
in Clarke, M and Griffin, G (eds) Next Generation Disaster Management (Australian Security
Research Centre, 2012).
7. ‘International Disaster Law’ in Alam, S., Bhuiyan, J.H., Chowdhury, T.M.R., and Techera, E.J.
(eds) Routledge Handbook of International Environmental Law (Taylor & Francis/Routledge,
2012).
Refereed journal articles
1. Bradley, E., Townsend, R. and Eburn, M. ‘Paramedics and ACT Mental Health Legislation’
(2015) 12(4) Australasian Journal of Paramedicine, Article 1, 1-6.
2. Eburn, M and Dovers S., 'Learning lessons from disasters: alternatives to Royal
Commissions and other quasi-judicial inquiries', (2015) 74(4) Australian Journal of Public
Administration 495-508.
3. Eburn, M and Dovers, S., ‘Legal Aspects of Risk Management in Australia’ (2014)
4(1) Journal of Integrated Disaster Risk Management 61-72.
4. Eburn, M and Dovers, S., 'How chief officers view the measures of success in fire policy and
management', (2014) 29(3) Australian Journal of Emergency Management 16-21.
5. McLennan, B., Weir, J., Eburn, M., Handmer, J., Dovers, S. and Norman, B., 'Negotiating
risk and responsibility through law, policy and planning', (2014) 29(3) Australian Journal of
Emergency Management 22-28.
6. Eburn, M and McLennan B., 'Exposing hidden value trade-offs; sharing wildfire management
responsibility between government and citizens' International journal of Wildland Fire (Online
early publication).
7. ‘Do Australian fire brigades owe a common law duty of care? A review of three recent cases’
(2013) 3(1) Victoria University Law and Justice Journal 65.
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8. Eburn, M and Dovers, S ‘Mainstreaming Fire and Emergency Management across Legal and
Policy Sectors: Preliminary Findings on Measures of Success' (2012) 27(2) Australian Journal
of Emergency Management, 15-19.
9. Eburn, M and Handmer, J ‘Legal Issues and Information on Natural Hazards’ (2012) 17 Local
Government Law Journal, 19-26.
10. Eburn, M and Dovers, S, 'Australian wildfire litigation’ (2012) 21(5) International Journal of
Wildland Fire 488-497.
11. ‘The emerging legal issue of failure to warn’ (2012) 27(1) Australian Journal of Emergency
Management 52-55.
12. ‘Responding to catastrophic natural disasters and the need for Commonwealth legislation’
(2011) 10(3) Canberra Law Review 81-102.
13. ‘Changes to occupational health and safety laws and the impact on volunteers in the
emergency services’ (2011) 26(4) Australian Journal of Emergency Management 43-47.
14. Eburn, M and Jackman, B ‘Mainstreaming fire and emergency management into law’ (2011)
28(2) Environmental and Planning Law Journal 59-76.
15. ‘International Law and Disaster Response’ (2010) 36(3) Monash University Law Review 162189.
Policy submissions
1. ‘The establishment of a national registration system for Australian Paramedics to improve
and ensure patient and community safety’. Submission to the Senate Legal and
Constitutional Affairs Committee, 29 January 2016 (Oral evidence given to the Committee 20
April 2016).
2. ‘Recent Trends in and Preparedness for Extreme Weather Events’. Submission to the Senate
Environment and Communication References Committee, 8 January 2013 (Oral evidence
given to the Committee 11 April 2013).
3. Eburn, M and Townsend, R., Submission to the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council’s
Consultation Paper: Options for regulation of paramedics, 5 September 2012.
4. 'Reforming Victoria’s emergency management arrangements: Towards a more disaster
resilient and safer Victoria – Who is in charge?' Submission to the Victorian Emergency
Management Reform Green Paper, Towards a more disaster resilient and safer Victoria, 30
October 2011.
International conference presentations
1. 'Regional Cooperation on Disaster Management in the Asia Pacifc' Presentation at the
'Disasters and International Law in the Asia-Pacific Workshop', University of New South
Wales, Sydney, 24 July 2015.
2. 'The Australian Experience in the Cooperation on Disaster Management' Presentation at the
launch of the Italian IDRL report, Bolgona, 15 June 2015.
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3. 'Trends in Australian Wildfire Litigation' Plenary Keynote presentation, 9th Annual Wildland
Fire Litigation Conference, Monterey, California, USA, 3 May 2015.
4. 'Risk management - law and governance: Bridging the gap between action and (legal)
actions'. Presentation at the combined Dealing with Disasters/Integrated Disaster Risk
Management (IDRiM) Society annual conference, University of Northumbria, Newcastleupon-Tyne, UK, 6 September 2013.
Non-refereed publications
1. ‘Nurses as ‘Good Samaritans’ (2015) 15(3) Primary Times 21.
2. 'Taking photos on an Australian fire ground' (2015) 54 Asia Pacific Fire Magazine 66-67.
3. ‘Are Fire Brigades Liable for Poor Operational Decisions’ (2015) 37(1) The Bulletin (Official
journal of the Law Society of South Australia), 8-11.
4. Eburn, M and Townsend, R., ‘Professional Discipline for Registered Health Professionals:
Lessons for Australian Paramedics’ (2014) Vol 41 No 3 Response (Official Journal of
Paramedics Australasia) pp 41-43.
5. Eburn, M and Townsend, R., ‘Restricting Paramedic Practice - An Issue of Professional
Practice' (2014) 41(2) Response (Official Journal of Paramedics Australasia) 33-35.
6. ‘Incident Controllers – making decisions in the shadow of the law’ (2014)
170 Phoenix (Official Journal of the Victoria Emergency Services Association) 17-19.
7. Eburn, M and Townsend, R., ‘Crossing the line – the law and ethics of going beyond the
wire’ (2014) 41(1) Response (Official Journal of Paramedics Australasia) 41-42.
8. ‘The law of driving under emergency conditions’, (2013) 163 Phoenix; Official Journal of the
Victoria State Emergency Service 24-26.
9. Eburn, M and Dovers, S, ‘Mainstreaming fire and emergency management – What’s possible?
What’s feasible?’ (2012) 97 Fire Note.
10. ‘Background Report - Law and Regulation for the Reduction of Risk from Natural Disasters -in
Australia - A National Law Desk Survey September 2012'. Report written for the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies International Disaster Law project, 13
September 2012.
My blog – Australian Emergency Law
I currently operate a blog ‘Australian Emergency Law’ (https://emergencylaw.wordpress.com/) where I
report on legal developments in the area of emergency management and Australia’s emergency
service. That blog has over 3000 followers (via WordPress, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIN). The
blog has received 348,069 views from 191,338 visitors. My blog has ‘reached’ (via social network
sharing) in excess of 20,000 people in one week (2-8 October, 2015).
Dr Michael Eburn
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