About Dale
Dale provides high level legal, practical and strategic advice to councils and other public authorities on all aspects of their administrative, regulatory, governance and employment obligations and requirements.
Practical and approachable, Dale’s focus is on ensuring client’s receive timely advice which can be readily applied and enacted.
Since joining Norman Waterhouse full-time in 2009, Dale has focused his attention on developing his client's practical understanding of the important roles governance and regulation play in helping their organisations successfully deliver for their communities. He now practices as a Principal in the firm’s Governance and Public Law and Environmental Health and Regulatory Services teams.
In the governance field, Dale specialises in behavioural management, conflict of interest, public officer duties, delegations, authorisations, meeting procedures, confidentiality, rates imposition and recovery, elections and freedom of information. Dale’s regulatory experience includes animal management and control, public health, food safety, public realm and traffic management, liquor licensing, by-laws and regulations.
Dale regularly represents public authorities before a wide range of Courts and Tribunals. He has appeared and instructed on matters in the High Court of Australia, Federal Court of Australia, Supreme Court of South Australia, District Court of South Australia, Magistrates Court of South Australia and the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Dale frequently presents workshops and training sessions for a wide variety of public sector clients and lectures in environmental health law at Flinders University.
Dale also assists public sector clients in a broad range of employment matters including work health and safety, employment obligations and statutory controls.
In addition to his legal education, Dale has university qualifications in Public Sector Management and International Studies. He also has firsthand, practical experience in the local government sector, and was formerly the Deputy Mayor and a Councillor of a large metropolitan council.
Dale is active in the community, sitting on the boards and executive committees of a number of not-for-profit organisations.
Specialisations
- Judicial reviews, administrative appeals and regulatory prosecutions
- Statutory orders, requirements and expiation notices
- Animal management and control
- Public and environmental health
- Food safety
- Public realm and traffic management
- Liquor licensing
- By-laws and regulations
- Behavioural management and conflict of interest
- Public officer duties
- Delegations and authorisations
- Public interest disclosure
- Meeting procedures and confidentiality
- Elections and polls
- Rates imposition and recovery
- Freedom of information
- Ombudsman and Independent Commissioner Against Corruption
Affiliations
- Deputy Chairperson, Sammy D Foundation Inc.
- Treasurer, Australian Institute of Administrative Law, South Australian Chapter
- Committee Member, Environmental Health Australia (South Australia) Inc.
- Committee Member, Planning, Environment and Local Government Committee, Law Society of South Australia
- Committee Member, Local Government Authorised Persons Association Inc.