Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture 2026

The School of Law and Justice is delighted to Dr. Michelle Gallen, Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Tribunal as our distinguished guest speaker for this year's event. Dr. Gallen will deliver a lecture titled: Contemporary Issues in Sports Governance and Dispute Resolution. Sport is more than competition. It is a major social, cultural and commercial institution, governed through increasingly complex systems of regulation, integrity oversight and dispute resolution. In the wake of recent global sporting events, and as Australia prepares to host the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, questions of fairness, accountability, athlete rights and public trust have never been more pressing. In the 2026 Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture, Dr Michelle Gallen, CEO of the National Sports Tribunal, will examine contemporary issues in sports governance and dispute resolution. Drawing on her leadership of Australia’s specialist national forum for sporting disputes, she will explore how institutions can resolve conflict fairly, efficiently and independently while responding to the changing demands of modern sport. The lecture will consider what effective governance requires as Australia enters a defining decade of major international sporting events.