Ms Ann Apps

Ann joined Newcastle Law School as a lecturer in 2010. She was previously employed as a solicitor in regional New South Wales where she has practised in the areas of civil litigation, property and commercial law.  Her broader research interests include co-operative law, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and legal models for social enterprise.  Ann is actively engaged in the promotion of co-operative education in the Australian tertiary sector. She is a member of Ius Cooperativum a community of international co-operative lawyers and is a member of the editorial committee for the International Co-operative Law Journal, see https://iuscooperativum.org/journal/.

Research Expertise
Ann is currently enrolled as a PhD student at University of Newcastle . Her thesis topic is  "Why can't we co-operate? the impact of law and regulatory policy on the development and growth of co-operative enterprise in Australia."Her research  thesis by publication explores the way that law and regulatory policy impact on co-operative businesses in Australia. Her supervisors are  Dr Tim Connor and Professor Christoph Antons. Ann has made submissions to the Senate Inquiry into Co-operative, Mutual and Member Owned Businesses in 2016 and the Treasury Round-table on Co-operatives, Mutuals and Member Owned Firms in 2017.  her submissions were referenced in the Senate Economic reference Committee's final report in 2016 and in the Independent Facilitator's report (the Hammond review) in 2018. Ann has provided consultancy services to the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) and was a member of the Co-op Builder team involved in developing the content for an online resource for new co-operatives who need assistance  drafting their constitutions and formation documents. The resource was originally funded by and developed for the federally funded Farm Co-ops and Collaboration Pilot program. However a generic version of the Co-op Builder tool is no available on the BCCM's Get Mutual website at https://www.getmutual.coop/builder/.

Teaching Expertise
Ann teaches Contract Law to students in the Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor programs,  Co-operative Law and Governance in the postgraduate MBA and Graduate Certificate in Co-operative Organisation and co-teaches with Dr Tim Connor the elective Corporate Power and Accountability, Pathways to Socially Responsible Business in the LLM and MBA programs. She has previously taught Foundations of Law and Law of Business Organisations to students enrolled in BComm and BBus programs and Conveyancing to students enrolled in the Legal Practice program.

Administrative Expertise
Ann is currently a member of the Faculty of Business and Law Teaching and Learning Committee (2017) and is acting program Convenor for the Juris Doctor graduate law program.  She was a member of the Faculty Board (2011 - 2013).