Matthew practices in commercial, industrial and public law. He advises and acts in commercial disputes including contract, consumer, building and construction law. His public law matters include judicial and merits review, and coronial inquests.
Matthew's more notable apperances include acting for the:
- successful plaintiffs in the Malaysia Soution case; Plaintiff M70 and M106 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2011) 244 CLR 144 (led by D Mortimer SC (now a Justice of the Federal Court), R Niall QC (now a Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court) and K Walker (now QC and Solicitor-General for Victoria);
- successful plaintiffs in each of the three contested proceedings concerning the detention of children in Barwon maximum security adult prison; Certain Children by their Litigation Guardian v State of Victoria [2016] VSC 796 (led by B Walters QC and P Morrissey SC), [2016] VSCA 343, [2017] VSC 153 (led by B Walters QC), [2017] VSC 304, [2017] VSC 251 (led by I Freckelton QC (now a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nauru);
- Commonwealth in the harassment claim by James Ashby against the speaker of the Federal parliament, Peter Slipper; Ashby v Commonwealth and Slipper (2012) 209 FCR 65 (led by J Burnside QC)
Matthew has appeared in all courts in the Victorian and Federal hierarchy. His recent appearances include:
High Court of Australia
Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
Supreme Court of Victoria (including Court of Appeal)
In 2014, Matthew worked at the Cape Town bar preparing two matters for the Constitutional Court in South Africa. In 2016, Matthew appeared in five matters in the Supreme Court of Nauru for asylum seekers in that country, including the first matter under the Nauruan Refugees Convention Act to reach the High Court of Australia.
Prior legal experience
Matthew was a solicitor in the Executive Branch of the Victorian Government Solicitor's Office and the researcher to the Solicitor-General for Victoria, P Tate SC (now a Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court). Following that, he was the associate to Justice Habersberger of the Supreme Court of Victoria’s Commercial and Equity Division. For eighteen months prior to joining the Victorian Bar, Matthew was the sole researcher to Geoffrey Robertson QC.
Education, teaching and publications
Matthew completed his undergraduate degrees at the University of Melbourne and his postgraduate degree in international refugee law at the University of Oxford, for which he received the highest mark ever awarded for the course. Matthew lectures on public law and refugee law in the Juris Doctor course at the University of Melbourne's Law School, at which he was appointed Senior Fellow.
Matthew’s publications include:
