Elizabeth Shalders is a Special Counsel at Mills Oakley. She is a recognised expert in not-for-profit and charity law and governance and has been practising solely in this field for over 16 years. Her extensive professional experience is supplemented with notable academic writings, including contributions to an academic textbook on public benefit, and peer-reviewed journal articles on charity tax concessions. More recently, she was an expert panel member on a major research project conducted by Professor Rosemary Teele-Langford of the University of Melbourne Law School on “Restoring public trust in charities – reforming governance and enforcement”.
She is a special counsel in the Not-for-profit, Human Rights & Social Impact Team at Mills Oakley, which is ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners in the field of Charities law. Chambers & Partners is an independent research and ranking organisation, and the Band 1 ranking recognises the Mills Oakley team as leaders in the field nationally. Elizabeth advises a range of not-for-profits including faith-based organisations, independent schools (large and small), public benevolent institutions, overseas aid and advocacy organisations, industry and professional associations, charitable trusts, and ancillary funds.
Current and recent work projects include:
- Restructure of a large disability services provider
- Judicial advice application in relation to a religious charitable trust
- A cy-pres application for an organisation that has numerous historical bequests
- Litigation against a former officeholder for breach of fiduciary duties
- Responding to ATO reviews of specifically listed DGRs
- Advising on the dividing line between charity and government in a complex charitable trust matter