Deane, Rachel

Rachel specialises in law enforcement work, including post-sentence litigation concerning high-risk terrorism offenders, protecting sensitive Commonwealth (often national security) information, coronial inquests and Royal Commissions, particularly where the interests of law enforcement agencies are affected.

Her practice also focuses on defending administrative decisions made by law enforcement agencies in Courts and Tribunals, defending law enforcement agencies in challenges to their criminal investigative processes, summary prosecutions and litigation relating to extradition, mutual assistance and international prisoner transfers. She regularly advises law enforcement agencies on briefs of evidence, charging federal offenders, investigative issues, challenges to warrants, coercive powers and other investigative techniques, evidentiary issues and general criminal law and sentencing.

Rachel has also acted for a range of Commonwealth agencies in civil penalty proceedings, judicial and merits review proceedings (including anti-dumping and other Customs-related litigation). She was a Team Leader in the Office of the Solicitor Assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, investigating and preparing case studies for public hearing.

Recent experience:

• McCartney v Abdirahman-Khalif; Booth v Namoa; Booth v Murat Kaya; Booth v Granata; Booth v Dacre; Booth v Kadir Kaya; Booth v Thorne (applications for control orders)
• applications for post-sentence orders
• The Queen v Yucel; The Queen v Linton Peters; The Queen v Ali Khalif Shire Ali (public interest immunity/ protecting sensitive information)
• Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (acting for various Commonwealth agency interests).

Qualifications:

Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, Australian National University, 2005

Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Bond University, 2004

Recognition:

Public interest immunity: procedural alternatives to the “binary” outcome (2019) 43 Crim LJ 147

Co-author, The Laws of Australia on ‘Customs prosecutions’ and ‘Anti-dumping and countervailing measures.’