1969-1972
Law student, University of Adelaide
Michael Davis AO LLB MSS
Summary
Summary
Michael Davis is a Director of Smart CRC Limited and a former Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia.
He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, Australia and Master of Space Studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France.
He practised law for 41 years, including 22 years as a partner of Ward & Partners, a major South Australian legal firm. In 2002 he co-founded Adelta Legal, a specialist commercial law firm, retiring from legal practice in 2014.
His volunteer service in the space sector includes five years as Chair of the Space Industry Association of Australia and 20 years' membership of the Board of that organisation.
He proposed Adelaide as the host of the International Astronautical Congress which was held in 2017, and chaired the Congress Local Organising Committee for that event. He was a leading advocate for the establishment of the Australian Space Agency, an Australian Government decision announced at the Congress.
He also played a key role in organising a number of International Space University programs and courses in Australia including the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program which is held annually in Adelaide.
In 2019 he was honoured with an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia for 'distinguished service to the space industry as an advocate, and to science education.'
Academic Qualifications
Academic Qualifications
1973
Graduated Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from
The University of Adelaide, South Australia
1996
Graduated Master of Space Studies (M.S.S.) from
the International Space University, Strasbourg, France
Career Highlights
Career Highlights
1973-1975
Articled law clerk and salaried solicitor, Ward & Partners Lawyers, Adelaide, Australia
1975-1976
Law clerk, Prentice Kirkwood and Glover & Co, Solicitors, London
1977-1979
Salaried solicitor, Ward & Partners Lawyers, Adelaide
1979-2001
Partner, Ward & Partners Lawyers, Adelaide
1989-1991
Head of Commercial Litigation, Ward & Partners
1991-1993
Managing Partner, Ward & Partners
1995-1997
Study leave and secondment to International Space University
1995-1996
Full-time participant in 11 month international, multi-disciplinary Master of Space Studies program at the International Space University in Strasbourg, France
1996
Visiting Researcher, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
1996-1997
Special Adviser, International Space University on secondment from Ward & Partners - liaising with commercial satellite and telecommunications organisations internationally on behalf of ISU’s Marketing Unit and researching international space and telecommunications regulatory matters
1997-2001
Head of Ward & Partners’ Space & Telecommunications Department
2002-2014
Founding Partner, Adelta Legal, Adelaide
2019
Appointed Adjunct Professor, University of South Australia
Pro-bono Activities
Pro-bono Activities
1980 - 1984
Chair of the South Australian Council for Civil Liberties
1992-2006
Chair and member of Advisory Board, Satellite Communications Research Centre and Institute of Telecommunications Research, University of South Australia
1996
Member of the Australian delegation to the ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum, Geneva
1987-1993
Trustee for the Faculty of Law, Alumni Association of the University of Adelaide
1993-1995
Founding Secretary, John Bray Law Chapter, Alumni Association of the University of Adelaide
1998-2019
Council Member, Secretary, Deputy Chair and Chair (2013-2015 and 2016-2019), Space Industry Association of Australia (formerly Australian Space Industry Chamber of Commerce)
1998-present
Member of the International Institute of Space Law
1999-2004
Chair of the 2004 International Space University Summer Space Program Local Organising Committee
2008-2017
Chair of the Advisory Board to the Environmental and Geospatial Science Discipline at the University of South Australia
2010-present
Chair of the International Space University/University of South Australia Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program Management Committee
2011-present
Co-Director(2011-2014), Guest Lecturer and Team Project Chair(2017), Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program
2012-present
Faculty Member, International Space University, Strasbourg France
2015-present
Member of the Board of Trustees, International Space University, Strasbourg France
2016-2017
Chair of the 2017 International Astronautical Congress Local Organising Committee
2016-present
Member of the South Australian Space Council
2017-2018
Member, Commonwealth Government’s Expert Reference Group on Australia’s Space Capability
2018-present
Member of the Adelaide Festival Chairman's Circle Committee
2019-present
Member of the International Astronautical Federation's Congress Selection Advisory Committee
2019-present
Director, Smartsat CRC Limited
Major Achievements
Major Achievements
1998-2004
Winning the bid and coordinating the contributions of the three South
Australian universities to the ten week International Space University
Summer Session Program in Adelaide in 2004 involving over 200 international students, lecturers and staff.
2011-2018
With colleagues from the International Space University and the University of South Australia, conceiving and planning the Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program, a five week intensive professional development program conducted annually in
Adelaide by ISU and UniSA and attended to date by over 350 Australian and international
participants, lecturers and staff.
2013-2018
Chairing the Space Industry Association of Australia, including proposing Adelaide to host the International Astronautical Congress, coordinating the research and advocacy for the SIAA White Paper calling for the establishment of an Australian Space Agency and chairing the Local Organising Committee for the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide in September 2017 attended by 4,500 international delegates.
Publications
Publications
The Australian Five Year Space Plan - Public Good, Commercial Benefits or
Internationalization?
Proceedings of the ISU International
Symposium, February 1996 (Co-author)
A Survey of Space-related Legal Services in Washington DC
Master of Space Studies Research report,
May 1996
Report on the ITU World Telecommunications Policy Forum
International Space University, October
1996
Reaching for the Moon
New Scientist, 23 August 1997
The WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services
Pacific Telecommunications Review,
September 1997
Telemedicine - The Regulatory and Policy Challenges
Proceedings of the ISU International
Symposium, June 1998
Space: Meeting Australia's Needs or Has the Door Closed?
Proceedings of 5th Australian Space
Development Conference, Sydney, July 1998 (Co-author)
Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite - the Regulatory Revolution
Satellite Finance, September 1998
Australia's Space Treaty Obligations
Proceedings of the International
Institute of Space Law Colloquium, Melbourne, September 1998
Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite - The International Regulatory Revolution
Proceedings of the 49th IAF International
Astronautical Congress, Melbourne, September 1998 (Co-author)
Roaming between Satellite and Terrestrial Systems - New Concepts and New Legal Issues
Proceedings of the Pacific
Telecommunications Council Conference, January 1999
Telemedicine: Neither Here nor There - The Reality of Implementing International Telemedicine
Systems
Proceedings of the Final Report of the
International Telecommunication Union Second World Telemedicine Symposium for
Developing Countries 1999 (Co-author)
Financial Responsibility and Government Indemnities for Commercial Space Launch
Activities - the Australian Approach
Proceedings of the International
Institute of Space Law Colloquium, Amsterdam, October 1999 (Co-author)
International Telemedicine - Solving the Regulatory and Legal Challenges
Proceedings of the Pacific Telecommunications Council Conference, January 2000 (Co-author)
The Regulation of the Australian Space Launch Industry
German Journal of Air and Space Law,
March 2000
Establishing a Space Launch Industry: The Political and Regulatory Considerations
Proceedings of the International Space
University International Symposium, Strasbourg, June 2000
The Regulation of Commercial Space Launches: The Differences between the National Systems
Proceedings of the International
Institute of Space Law Colloquium, Toulouse, October 2001 (Co-author)
International Space Law: An Aid or an Obstacle?
Proceedings of 8th Australian Space
Development Conference, Adelaide, July 2004
Making Space for Luxembourg
Presentation to the Government of Luxembourg,
2 August 2006
Space Launch Safety in Australia
Chapter in 'Space Safety Regulations and
Standards' edited by Joseph N. Pelton and Ram S. Jakhu. April 2010
Legal Dimensions of Cloud Computing
International Journal of Digital Crime
and Forensics, (2010) Vol 2 No. 1 p.30 (Co-author)
Australia’s Role in the Global Space Industry
Proceedings of the 64th
International Astronautical Congress, Beijing, September 2013
Origin and Principles of Space Law
Lectures to Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program, Adelaide 2011-2014, 2016-2019
The Regulation of Commercial Space Launches
Lectures to Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program, Adelaide 2011-2014, 2016-2019
Policy and Regulatory Considerations in Private Human Spaceflight
Workshop in Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program, Adelaide 2011-2014, 2016-2019
Selected Presentations
Selected Presentations
17 July 1998
23 September 2017
25 September 2017
25 September 2017
26 September 2017
5 September 2018
5 December 2018
Awards
Awards
2004
National Space Society of Australia Space Pioneer Award
2016
Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council Plaque of Appreciation
2017
International Institute of Space Law Award of Appreciation
2018
Premier's Award of Appreciation for Contributions to the South Australian Space Sector
2019
Appointed Adjunct Professor of the University of South Australia
2019
Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in Queen's Birthday Honours List
2019
Appointed as a Life Member of the Space Industry Association of Australia
1973
Articled Law Clerk, Ward & Partners, Adelaide.
1974
Admitted as Legal Practitioner, Supreme Court of South Australia
1974-1975
Salaried solicitor, Ward & Partners, Adelaide
1975-1976
Law Clerk, Prentice Kirkwood and Glover & Co, London
1977-1979
Salaried solicitor, Ward & Partners, Adelaide
1979-2001
Partner, Ward & Partners, Adelaide
2002-2014
Partner, Adelta Legal, Adelaide
2013-2015
Chair, Space Industry Association of Australia
2016-2019
Chair, Space Industry Association of Australia
2019
Adjunct Professor, University of South Australia