Elizabeth Bateman

• Arbitrators & Mediators
• Class Actions
• Commercial Law
• Competition
• Environment & Planning
• Equity
• Inquests & Inquiries
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Professional Negligence
• Public Law
• Sports, Gaming & Licensing

Elizabeth practices in a broad range of commercial law matters, with a focus on construction, engineering and technology disputes, arbitration, energy law, professional negligence and insurance law.

Elizabeth has significant experience appearing in and advising on high-value, complex commercial disputes, particularly in the construction sector. Elizabeth is recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Construction and Infrastructure Junior Counsel in Victoria (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) and in Australia (2022, 2023 and 2024).

Before coming to the Bar, Elizabeth was a Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright Australia.

Elizabeth is a reporter for the Building and Construction Law Journal and appears in the AFL and AFWL Tribunal for Carlton Football Club.

Elizabeth’s selected cases include:

Building and Construction

• Biodiversity Sub TC Pty Ltd atf Biodiversity Sub Trust v Vaughan Constructions Pty Ltd (VSC and VCAT) – appeared for a third party geotechnical engineer in a complex $150m dispute concerning a defective warehouse slab and hydro-consolidation (led by Kathleen Foley SC) (see, Vaughan Constructions Pty Ltd v Melbourne Water Corporation [2022] VCAT 633; [2022] VCAT 821; and [2023] VCAT 233).
• The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust v Ian Hartley Architects Pty Ltd & Ors – appeared for an owner concerning defective building footings (led by Rob Craig KC) (see, [2022] VSC 233).
• Owners Corporation PS623721 v Shangri-La Construction & Ors [2022] VCAT 1499 – appeared for a building surveyor in respect of claims concerning the use of combustible cladding and other defective works (led by John Tesarsch).
• RW Health Partnership Pty Ltd v Lendlease Building Contractors Pty Ltd [2019] VSC 353 – appeared for a contractor in respect of claims for alleged defective works in a hospital and product liability issues. Related issues concerning the Commercial Arbitration Act (led by Jeffery Gleeson KC, resolved).

Arbitration

• Appeared for a network service provider in an expedited arbitration regarding an electricity transmission connection dispute for a major industrial load (led by Tom Clarke).
• Appeared for an insurer in a subrogated recovery action concerning defective design work (led by Jeffery Gleeson KC and Albert Dinelli SC).
• Appeared for an EPC subcontractor in a multi-billion dollar international arbitration (ICC, Singapore) concerning a power plant within an LNG project (led by Jeffery Gleeson KC, with now Judicial Registrar David Bennett and Premala Thiagarajan).
• Appeared for a first-tier contractor in an arbitration concerning the construction of a waste water infrastructure facility (led by Tim Margetts KC).
• Appeared for a multinational corporation on disputes concerning the delivery of several windfarms in Australia, involving issues of transportation, grid connection, delay and damage (led by Michael Christie KC).

Professional negligence and insurance law

• Owners Corporation No. 1 PS526704E v TressCox (a firm) & Ors (VCAT) – appeared for a law firm in a respect of a professional negligence claim stemming from the findings of the Court of Appeal in [2022] VSCA 105 (led by Lisa Hannon KC).
• Green & Taylor v QBE Insurance (Australia) Pty Ltd (VCAT) – appeared for home owners in a claim under a policy of insurance, involving issues of election and waiver (with Tim Margetts KC, resolved).

General commercial

• Australia A108 Property Management v Owners Corporation PS732028U (VSC) – appeared for an OC defending a claim for wrongful termination of a services agreement (unled).
• Owners Corporation Plan No PS 316440K v Valiturus Pty Ltd (VCAT) – appeared for lot owners resisting the levying of a Special Fee based on the “benefit principle” for the repair of a historical building (unled, resolved).
• Sully v Englisch [2020] VCAT 378 – appeared for a real estate agent defending claims under the Australian Consumer Law (unled).
• Carraffa and Lofthouse as trustees of the bankrupt estate of Santucci & Santucci v Tile Mart (Vic) Pty Ltd [2018] FCCA 2164; [2018] FCCA 3775 – appeared for trustees defeating voidable transactions (unled).
• Various applications including for injunctions, joinder and strike out, and the return of subpoenas – for example, Khani-E v Simonds Homes [2019] VCAT 1446 and Owners Corporation PS646781P and Verve Constructions Pty Ltd & Ors [2019] VCAT 642 and [2022] VCAT 864.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation. The information referred to above has been supplied by the barrister concerned. Neither Victorian Bar Inc nor the barrister's clerk have independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the information and neither accepts any responsibility in that regard.