A breadth of experience…

Fowler Charity Law is an incorporated law practice that provides legal services to the charity and not-for-profit sector. It is based in Sydney and serves a client base across the nation.

Who we are…

Principal – Dr Mark Fowler

Dr Mark Fowler is a practicing lawyer whose specialist areas of advice include the law applying to schools, international aid organisations, arts and cultural organisations and religious organisations.

Prior to establishing Fowler Charity Law Pty Ltd in 2019, Mark was a Partner in leading national charity and not-for-profit law firms located in Sydney and Brisbane. He is an Appeals Panel member for the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian action. He is a member of the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission Professional Users Group and has served as a member of the Queensland Law Society’s Human Rights Working Group. Mark is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame, School of Law, Sydney, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Law School at his alma mater, the University of New England. He is also an External Fellow at the Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law, University of Queensland. He holds a doctorate degree in law conferred by the University of Queensland in 2023.

Research publications

  • Aroney, Nicholas and Fowler, Mark ‘Freedom of Association in Australia’ (2024), Global Perspectives on Freedom of Association: Australia, (Societās Working Paper 05/2024) Cork: School of Law, University College Cork.
  • Fowler, Mark and Alex Deagon, ‘Recognising Religious Groups as Litigants: An International Law Perspective’ (2024) Laws 13, 16.
  • Fowler, Mark, ‘Charity Law and Critiques of Modernity: An Application of Philosophical and Theological Critiques of Liberalism to Four Fields of Charity Law and Regulation: Civic-Engagement, Anti-Discrimination Law, Critique of Government Policy and Tax Exemption’ (PhD Thesis, University of Queensland, 2023).
  • Fowler, Mark, ‘Can a Faith-Based Public Benevolent Institution Have a Purpose of “Advancing Religion”?’ (2023) 1 Third Sector Review 65.
  • Fowler, Mark ‘The Position of Religious Schools Under International Human Rights Law’ (2023) 2 The Australian Journal of Law and Religion 36.
  • Fowler, Mark ‘Judicial Apprehension of Religious Belief under the Commonwealth Religious Discrimination Bill’, in Michael Quinlan and A. Keith Thompson (eds) Inclusion, Exclusion and Religious Freedom in Contemporary Australia, (Shepherd Street Press, 2021).
  • Fowler, Mark ‘Attaining to Certainty: Does the Expert Panel’s Proposal for Reform of the Charities Act Sufficiently Protect Religious Charities?’ (2020) 2 Third Sector Review.
  • Fowler, Mark, ‘Identifying Faith-Based Entities for the Purpose of Anti-Discrimination Law’ in Neville G. Rochow and Brett G. Scharffs Paul T. Babie (eds), Freedom of Religion or Belief: Creating the Constitutional Space for Fundamental Freedoms (Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2020)
  • Fowler, Mark ‘The Courts and the Marriage Debate’ Upholding the Australian Constitution, Proceedings of the Samuel Griffith Society August (Volume 27) (2017)
  • Fowler, Mark ‘Charitable Housing – Update and Future Trends’ in Myles McGregor-Lowndes (ed) The Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal and Accounting Almanac 2014, Working Paper No. ACPNS 64, (The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Queensland University of Technology Prints, 2015)
  • Fowler, Mark ‘National Rental Affordability Scheme’ in Myles McGregor-Lowndes (ed), The Australian Nonprofit Sector Legal Almanac 2009, Working Paper No. CPNS 49, (The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Queensland University of Technology, 2010)

Law Clerk – Aaron Alexander

Aaron Alexander is a law graduate who is currently completing the College of Law. He has previously worked in compliance and investigations and has also volunteered in non-profit community legal centres. He brings a diligent and thorough approach and greatly enjoys using his research skills to assist others.

Legal Executive Assistant – Simaima Gordon

Simaima Gordon is a Legal Executive Assistant currently undertaking her Bachelor of Laws and Business Management degree. She has experience in various domestic and international mooting competitions, and also volunteers as a coordinator in the Australian Law Students Association and UQ International Law Society.

Latest news…

Get in Touch

You can get in touch with us through any of the following means:

Level 13, St James Centre, 111 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000

reception@fclaw.net.au

+61 (0)2 9159 9028