NSW Just Terms Compensation – Litigation In The Time of COVID-19 with Justice Moore

Professor John Sheehan LFAPI FRICS MPIA(Fellow) MRTPI is the former Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Complex Real Property Rights and former Adjunct Professor with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He is currently Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University and under contract as Guest Professor with the Faculty of Social and Economic Studies, Jan Evangelista Purkyne in Usti Nad Labem (UJEP), Czech Republic.

In November 2010, he was invited to be one of the 35 members of the Expert Meeting convened in Rome by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (UNFAO) to consider and report on Land Tenure Issues and Requirements for Implementing Climate Change Mitigation Policies in the Forestry and Agriculture Sectors. The subsequent report of the Expert Meeting was submitted to inform the Cancun Conference.

Through the lens of property economics, land use planning and environmental law John continues to work to create an understanding of the increasing complexity of compensation assessment as non-Indigenous and Indigenous property rights are compulsorily acquired by Australian governments for necessary infrastructure.

In 2005 he was elected a Life Fellow of the Australian Property Institute and subsequently, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List on 12 June 2017 Professor Sheehan was appointed as a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his distinguished academic and professional endeavours.

His Honour was appointed as a Commissioner of the Court in November 2002; Senior Commissioner in March 2009; an Acting Judge in June 2015 and as a permanent Judge in January 2016.

He was the Member for Gordon in the NSW Parliament between 1976 and 1992 and was Minister for the Environment between 1988 and 1992 Between 1992 and 1993, he was Executive Director of the NSW Master Builders Association. Between 1993 and 1996, he was an Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Secretary to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

His Honour commenced practice as a barrister in 1997 – practising in the areas of planning and environment law; commercial and corporations law and building disputes.He graduated from UNSW Law School in 1977.  In March 2009, he was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Planning (Distinction) by UTS.  His Honour is also a nationally accredited mediator.