_David Buchanan SC

Admitted as a barrister in 1977
Appointed senior counsel in 1997

Principal areas of practice

• Environmental offences
• WHS/OHS offences
• Other regulatory offences
• Inquests and commissions of inquiry
• Appeals
• Administrative and public law
• Criminal law

David Buchanan’s general specialities are:

• the prosecution and defence of charges of regulatory crime, typically environmental crime and work health and safety crime;
• associated administrative law and procedures (eg, licences, statutory notices, challenges to jurisdiction);
• inquests and inquiries.

Environmental and planning criminal work

David Buchanan has advised and appeared as counsel:

• for and against the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and its predecessor, the SPCC;
• for and against departmental officers, and
• for and against a number of local government and other statutory authorities in numerous prosecutions for environmental and planning offences in the Land and Environment Court and appeals in the Court of Criminal Appeal. 

Current legislation on which David Buchanan has advised and/or which has been involved in prosecutions in which he has appeared have included the:

• Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
• National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
• Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979
• Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995
• Native Vegetation Act 2003
• Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998 and, most recently,
• Water Management Act 2000

​Other criminal and related work

• prosecution of other regulatory offences – notably occupational health and safety offences;
• criminal trials – appearing for the accused and for the Crown;
• represented the DPP/Crown in a lengthy post-conviction inquiry (2002-2007) in the ACT (fitness for trial of David Harold Eastman) and in related administrative law litigation including Eastman v Director of Public Prosecutions (ACT) (2003) 214 CLR 318 (re meaning of  the word “guilt” in and ambit of post-conviction inquiry legislation);
• prosecutions for contempt of court (including Athens v Randwick City Council (2005) 64 NSWLR 58 (CA) (meaning of orders breached) and Environment Protection Authority v Pannowitz (2006) 164 A Crim R 325 (third party contempt of court)

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Commissions of inquiry

• Counsel Assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) into the former Canterbury City Council (2018-2019).

 
Coronial inquests

• Inquest into death of Lynette Bradbury (counsel assisting – cold case murder – evidence referred to the DPP, 20 June 2019);
• Inquest into death of Rebecca Maher (counsel assisting – Aboriginal death in Police custody – findings delivered, 5 July 2019);

• Inquest into the Lindt Café Siege (for the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions – findings delivered May 2017);
• Inquest into the deaths of Smith and Munnerley (implication of alleged defects in tyres in deaths of truck drivers and associated business management issues in Australian office of tyre manufacturing multinational company - findings delivered, 30 March 2012).

For further details or enquiries regarding David Buchanan’s areas of expertise, fees and terms of engagement please contact his Clerk.

CONTACT HERE