Personal Experience

Tony is one of Victoria’s leading local government and public law legal advisors. He also leads Hunt & Hunt’s Melbourne office as Managing Principal and has extensive experience representing parties in property transfers, leases and disputes.

Among his regular local government clients are the Cities of Melbourne, Monash, Port Phillip, Moreland, Ballarat, Geelong, Manningham, Wyndham, Banyule, Kingston, Ararat, Bass Coast, and the Shires of Macedon Ranges, Golden Plains and Gannawarra.

In fact, Tony regularly acts for over 20 of the municipalities in Victoria providing advice on specific commercial, property and governance matters.  Tony also regularly represents the Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA), the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and regional libraries including Yarra Plenty Regional Library Services and Casey Cardinia Regional Library.

Tony brings the benefit of his own experience as an elected councillor having served two terms on the Shire of Nillumbik. During this period, Tony served terms as Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Victorian Local Governance Association and Municipal Association of Victoria delegate, chair of the Statutory Planning and Building Committee and numerous other council committees.

Tony often conducts both intensive full-day new councillor induction sessions and follow up refresher sessions for both metropolitan and regional councils. In 2020/21 Tony conducted training sessions for the Cities of Ararat, Banyule, Brimbank, Greater Shepparton, Knox, Maroondah, Mildura, Port Phillip, Whitehorse and Wyndham and the Shires of Buloke, Central Goldfields, East Gippsland, Gannawarra, Golden Plains, Mansfield, Murrindindi and the Northern Grampians.

Tony has also conducted numerous training sessions for council staff including in relation to specific legal areas and also more general probity and conflict of interest issues.

As Hunt & Hunt’s lead Principal in the delivery of legal services through the Victorian State Government Legal Services Panel, Tony has extensive experience representing Victorian Government departments and authorities in acquisitions, due diligence investigations, sales, leases, licences and general property work. Key clients Tony regularly represents under this panel arrangement are Department of Transport, Parks Victoria, Country Fire Authority, Department of Treasury & Finance, Director of Housing, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education & Training.

Tony also has a particular interest in the law relating to self-storage and advises the Self Storage Association of Australasia and its members throughout Australia.

Tony is presently a contributing editor and chapter author for the Local Government Service – Victoria, Thomson Reuters. Tony also is also the Victorian representative on the editorial panel of the National Local Government Reporter (Lexis Nexis) and a regular contributor of articles.

Tony regularly appears as an expert panellist/guest speaker including recently being involved in:

• Several appearances on the VLGA Governance Connect Update
• VLGA Election of a Mayor – More then just a title (Sept 2021)
• LGPro Procurement Special Interest Group (June 2021)
• Macquarie Bank Law (20)24 event (May 2021)
• VLGA – Election related integrity discussion (Sept 2020)
• VLGA – Election Regulations for Council Elections (July 2020)
• Self Storage Association of Australasia Annual Conference (2019)

Tony is also a Director of ASX listed mining company Lincoln Minerals Ltd.