Debra Coombs

Profile

Debra practises across a range of administrative, regulatory and common law areas, focussing on the interplay between government agency actions and their impact on the individual. She has extensive experience in representing government agencies and her focus is on assisting people to deal with government successfully.  

Debra has acted and advised in a large variety of cases, including judicial reviews of agency decisions, personal injury claims, sentencing, emergency management day and bail applications, as well as prosecutions by Community Correctional Services. She has significant experience in freedom of information matters, discrimination claims, and managing subpoena requests.  

She practises in health adjacent matters, including inquests, powers of attorney, guardianship, and matters intersecting crime and health such as reviews under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act and supervision orders pursuant to the Serious Offenders Act. 

Debra most recently worked in house at and for Corrections Victoria and other Victorian Government agencies, and regularly appeared on urgent Corrections Victoria applications. Some of her cases included:

• Mercorella v The Secretary to the Department of Justice [2015] VSC 18 (4 February 2015), 
• Rich v Ryan [2015] VSC 785 (4 December 2015), 
• Stewart v Magistrates' Court of Victoria [2017] VSC 110 (15 March 2017), 
• Dudley v Hopkins Correctional Centre & Ors [2017] VSC 580 (20 September 2017).
• While at the State Electricity Commission, Debra regularly appeared and instructed at the Coroners Court including inquests into the Mistral Fans deaths, the fire at Coode Island and deaths of Indigenous prisoners.

She previously appeared on behalf of the Blue Wedge Coalition, which represented over 40 community groups, at the First Panel Hearing into the Environment Effects Statement into the proposal by the Port of Melbourne Authority to deepen the Port Phillip Bay Channel.

Qualifications:

Monash University - LLB, BA, Grad Dip Labour and Management Relations Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education