Mr. David Tonkin has been legal counsel for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) for the last 23 years, and in that time provided advice and represented Austrade in a number of major commercial disputes and international forums, particularly in cases involving bribery and fraud in trade.
He understands current issues impacting exporters seeking to trade in low governance/high risk markets, managing local agents and navigating the pitfalls of Australian extraterritorial legislation. He has represented Austrade at the OECD and consulted in proposed changes to Australian law that will impose serious new obligations on Australian businesses working off-shore.
Mr. Tonkin earnt degrees in Law and Commerce from the University of Melbourne and prior to joining Austrade was a partner of a law firm working in Melbourne, and later started a legal research business in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and has a particular interest in supporting trade in the South Pacific.