Kirby Moot
The Annual Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot Competition is hosted by Victoria Law School at Victoria University (VU).
Mooting is the oldest form of legal training for law advocates. At many universities, mooting competitions can be selected as an elective unit in your undergraduate law degree.
The Kirby Moot demonstrates VU’s strong industry connections. It is a fixture in the legal calendar and has strong support from the County Court of Victoria, members of the Victorian Bar, various law firms and practical legal training institutions. Law professionals are invited to judge the rounds and provide feedback to students.
2026 competition
The Annual Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot Competition is hosted by Victoria Law School at Victoria University (VU).
We are pleased to announce that the 14th Annual Kirby Contract Law Moot (2026) will be held from Monday 21–Thursday 24 September 2026.
This year's competition will be conducted in person at Victoria Law School, 295 Queen Street, City Campus. The Grand Final will be held at the Federal Court of Australia.
Competitor & teams registrations
- Open: Monday 1 June–Friday 24 July
- Costs (incl. GST) per team: $900
Event sponsors
Past competitions
Celebrating the 14th Annual Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot
We are delighted to congratulate the Grand Finalists of the 14th Annual Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot Competition!
A huge congratulations to the winning team from The Australian National University, and to Bond University, our impressive runners-up. Both teams demonstrated exceptional skill, dedication and advocacy throughout the competition. Well done on your outstanding achievements! To all 21 teams who participated in this year’s Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot, thank you for your outstanding participation and commitment throughout the competition. The exceptionally high standard of mooting this year made the judges’ decisions particularly challenging. Your preparation, legal knowledge, advocacy skills and professionalism were evident in every round. Congratulations to every team on an excellent competition. You should all be very proud of your achievements and the high standard you brought to this year’s Moot.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our major sponsors — Leo Cussen Centre for Law, Marco Man Associates, Thomson Reuters, Rehman Sheriff Group and Wei Wang — for their generous and unwavering support of Victoria Law School at Victoria University. Thank you, Pam Christou, for all your assistance and support with securing the sponsors for the 2026 Michael Kirby Moot.
On behalf of Acting Dean of Law Upeka Perera and myself, we sincerely thank all the legal professionals who generously volunteered their time, knowledge and expertise. Your contribution was instrumental in creating such a meaningful and enriching experience for all participating students.
A very special thank you to Alicia Pejic for all your assistance throughout the week and during the six months leading up to this prestigious event. Your support, dedication and hard work have been greatly appreciated. Thank you, Alicia, for everything you have done to help make the 2026 Kirby Moot a success.
We are also deeply grateful to the Federal Court of Victoria for graciously hosting the 2026 Grand Final and for helping make this prestigious event such a memorable occasion.
Finally, we extend our profound appreciation and respect to our esteemed Grand Final Judges. Your presence, expertise and insights made this year's final a truly unforgettable experience for our students:
- The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG
- Michael Wyles KC
- The Hon. Justice Shaun Brendan McElwain
- Professor Katy Barnett
- David Thomson OAM FACE
- Laina Chan, Barrister.
To our students, coaches, judges, volunteers, sponsors, supporters and everyone who contributed behind the scenes—thank you. Your collective commitment, generosity and passion for legal education continue to make the Michael Kirby Contract Law Moot a remarkable opportunity for the next generation of legal advocates.
Congratulations to all involved in the 2026 Michael Kirby Moot! What an outstanding way to celebrate the 14th year of this prestigious competition.
Past winners
Michael Kirby Justice Oration
Established in 2010, the annual Michael Kirby Justice Oration provides a platform for leaders within our community to share their experiences, deep understanding, knowledge and reflections on issues of justice.
2026 oration – The Hon. Jill Hennessy
Topic: Closing the Distance Between Us
An oration about justice. About courage. About the obligations we carry to each other.
Rights are not delivered by declarations. They are delivered by people willing to act. Just as Justice Kirby argued throughout his remarkable career, the true measure of justice is not what the law says - but whether people can live lives in which those rights are fully felt and freely exercised.
Drawing on her experience as a minister in a reforming government, Professor Hennessy will examine the distance between the right as written and the right as lived - and the human cost of the years institutions take to close it.
She will then turn to the new frontier - artificial intelligence - and ask what deepening inequality in education, work and opportunity demands of us now, and what institutions are obliged to do to ensure a new generation is not left behind while we deliberate.
About the speaker
Professor the Honourable Jill Hennessy
Professor the Honourable Jill Hennessy is the former Victorian Attorney-General and Minister for Health and led a series of groundbreaking reforms in her time in Parliament.
As well as being a Council Member of Victoria University, Jill is Chair of Western Health, Chair of the Monash Women's Health Alliance, and Chair of GAIASO Theranostics Pty Ltd.
She is a Non-Executive Director at the Hudson Institute for Medical Research, Scope (Aust) Ltd, Melbourne Theranostic Innovation Centre (MTIC Pty Ltd) and Precision Molecular Imaging and Theranostics (PreMIT), and an Independent Non-Executive Director on Incolink. She is also a strategic advisor to the Susan McKinnon Foundation and an Ambassador for the McKinnon Prize for Political Leadership.
A passionate Western Bulldogs supporter, she is the Chair of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation and a proud resident of Melbourne's west. Professor Hennessy is a Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at Monash University and holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, a Masters of Law (Public and International) from the University of Melbourne, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
