Cahal Fairfield

Cahal is the holder of an Indictable Crime Certificate and is on the Criminal Trial Preferred Barrister List of Victoria Legal Aid.  He is a member of the Criminal, Migration and Industrial Bar Associations. 

He has appeared in many trials, hearings and appeals in both the State and Federal courts and tribunals.  He has also appeared in a number of judicial review cases in the Supreme Court of Nauru where he is also admitted to practice as a barrister.

He has a strong interest in statutory interpretation and has written a number of papers and presented a number of seminars on the topic. 

For the past 18 years he has instructed at the Leo Cussen Centre for Law in Melbourne in administrative law, commercial litigation, and Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court practice. 

He was for three years an elected member of the Victorian Bar Council.  He is a strong adherent of pro bono work and has served on the Bar’s Pro Bono Commitee.

His most recent work has included:

Criminal Law – Three week County Court jury trial for an accused charged on a 21 count indictment; pleas in the County Court for the Office of Public Prosecutions; opposing supervision order applications in the County Court.

Public Law – Sucessfully obtaining constitutional writs in respect of a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.  Provision of advice on statutory interpretation to a Victorian Government agency. 

Inquests & Tribunals – Representing Worksafe Victoria in various VCAT enforcement proceedings under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Dangerous Goods Act 1985; appearing at an inquest into the disappearance of a child. 

Superior Court Cases in which he has appeared include:

Kwatra v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCA  58

CDPP v Gerathy [2018] VSC 255 (false accounting);  CDPP v Gerathy [2018] VSC 289 (false accounting);

VBAO v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (2006) 233 CLR 1; Sok v MIMIA [2005] FCAFC 56; Applicant M169 of 2003 v MIMIA [2004] FCAFC 311; Applicant M164/2002 v MIMIA [2006] FCAFC 16; VNAA v MIMIA [2004] FCAFC 134; Priest v West [2012] VSCA 327; Miles v Commissioner of Patents [2014] FCAFC 109.

Ismail v Rustom [2009] VSC 625; Zion-Shalom v Magistrates Court of Victoria [2009] VSC 476
Priest v Deputy State Coroner [2010] VSC 449;   Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria v G  [2010] VCAT 1927.

CRI 018 v Republic of Nauru (Supreme Court of Nauru, Khan J, 15 December 2016); MEG 026 v Republic of Nauru (Supreme Court of Nauru, Khan J, 7 February 2017);  DWN 066 v Republic of Nauru (Supreme Court of Nauru, Khan J, 31 March 2017); PIN 031 V Republic of Nauru (Supreme Court of Nauru, Khan J, 31 March 2017); HFM 043 v Republic of Nauru (Supreme Court of Nauru, Khan J, 9 June 2017).