Cosmo Cater

Expertise

Cosmo has 18 years of experience as a public sector lawyer having worked at a senior level within the Queensland Government.

Cosmo specialises in the following areas of law: dispute resolution and litigation, public and administrative law and Government.

He has particular experience in complex litigation on behalf of the State of Queensland, prosecutions, coronial inquests and commissions of inquiry, judicial review matters and discrimination and human rights matters.

Cosmo has previously led a team of legal professionals, coordinating responses to legal challenges, including lengthy District Court trials and high-profile appeals in the Court of Appeal. He has also handled a wide range of legal issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and played a critical role in the government’s enforcement of vaping and tobacco laws.

Earlier in his career, Cosmo managed complex environmental prosecutions, achieving record fines, and provided vital legal guidance on various public sector matters, earning recognition for his expertise in statutory interpretation, regulatory compliance, and advocacy in multiple courts and tribunals.

Experience

Cosmo’s experience includes:

Public and administrative law and Government

• conduct of human rights matters in QCAT and QHRC
• acting for the Queensland Government in respect of applications under the Judicial Review Act 1991 in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal
• advising Queensland government departments on the preparation and conduct of investigations and enforcement proceedings
• advising on compliance with government policies and frameworks and complex matters of statutory interpretation
• advising on the development and introduction of legislation including with respect to the introduction of the new vaping legislation
• advising on government decision making and statements of reasons
• advising on data disclosure and information privacy.

Litigation and prosecution

• conduct of litigation on behalf of, and advice to, the Chief Health Officer
• Queensland Health’s litigious matters lead
• appearing as an advocate in the High Court of Australia
• acting on environmental prosecutions on behalf of the State of Queensland
• conduct of large scale commercial litigation matters, including in respect of technology and product recall
• appearing as an advocate in urgent and sensitive applications in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Attorney‐General
• conduct of regulatory and white-collar criminal prosecutions in the Magistrates and District Courts on behalf of State agencies, as well as criminal prosecutions for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
• appearing for the Attorney-General and Director of Forensic Disability in the Mental Health Court and Mental Health Review Tribunal
• responses to compliance, investigation, improvement and production notices
• appearing in QCAT at first instance and on appeal on occupational disciplinary matters.

Commissions of Inquiry, Inquests and Investigations

• advising on complex health service investigations and clinical reviews under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011
• appearing for State government departments in coronial inquests 
• representing the State of Queensland before the Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland Child Protection System, 2012‐2013
• representing the State of Queensland before the Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland Floods, 2011‐2012.