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1. Introduction
2. Contents
3. 1. Principal Member’s Report
4. 2. Registrar’s Report
5. 3. The role of the Tribunals
6. 4. Performance Report
7. 5. Management and accountability
8. 6. Financial statements
9. Appendices
   1. 1: The Tribunals’ Plan
   2. 2: Statements of Expectations
   3. 3: Service Charter
   4. 4: Members of the Tribunals
   5. 5: Member Code of Conduct
   6. 6: Additional staffing statistics
   7. 7: Freedom of Information
   8. 8: Disability action plan
   9. 9: Compliance index
   10. Glossary

Appendix 4: Members of the Tribunals

The Tribunals’ Members make decisions on applications for review. The Members are appointed under the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) by the Governor-General for fixed terms on a full-time or part-time basis. The Remuneration Tribunal determines the remuneration arrangements for Members.

Persons appointed as Members to the Tribunals have typically worked in a profession or have had extensive experience at senior levels in the private or public sectors. While there are no mandatory qualifications for the appointment of Members, the following biographies indicate the depth of knowledge and experience that Members bring to the task of providing a final and independent merits review of decisions.

As at 1 July 2007 the membership of the Tribunals comprised the Principal Member, 3 Senior Members, 8 full-time Members and 82 part-time Members. All Members are appointed to both the MRT and the RRT.

On 19 July 2007 the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced the appointments of Mr Denis O’Brien as the Principal Member of the Tribunals and Mrs Mary Urquhart as the Deputy Principal Member of the RRT. Mrs Urquhart has subsequently also been appointed as an MRT Senior Member.

• Steve Karas AO

  Principal Member BA (Hons), LLB

  Appointed: 1 Febuary 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2001 (RRT)
  Term Expired: 30 June 2007
  (Acting Principal Member: 1 July to 31 August 2007)

  Steve Karas was a Senior Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal from 1989-1999 and was a part-time Member and Senior Member of the MRT from its inception in 1999 until he was appointed to act as Principal Member of the MRT in early 2001. He was appointed as the Principal Member of the MRT and the RRT from 1 July 2001. He had previously worked in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and was in private practice as a legal practitioner for a number of years. He has had extensive community involvement including with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils and the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland. He has been a Member of the Migration Agents Registration Board, the Board of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters and Chairman of the Special Broadcasting Service’s Community Advisory Committee.

• Rea Hearn Mackinnon

  Senior Member, Melbourne BA, BSocAd, LLB (Hons)

  Appointed: 1 November 2005 (MRT), 1 January 2006 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 31 December 2008

  Rea Hearn Mackinnon was a lawyer and senior associate with Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers from 2000 to 2005 practising in administrative law, particularly tribunal and judicial review. She has held a number of public sector positions and statutory appointments including Member of the Intellectual Disability Review Panel in Victoria, Director of Investigations with the Commonwealth Ombudsman with a particular focus on migration and refugee matters, Pre-Hearing Conference Convenor at the Melbourne Children’s Court and Deputy Community Advocate for the ACT.

• Bruce MacCarthy

  Senior Member, Sydney BSc, BEc

  Appointed: 30 August 1999 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 31 December 2008

  Bruce MacCarthy has been a Member of the RRT since 1999 and a Senior Member since January 2003. He was appointed as a Senior Member of the MRT in January 2006. He has held a number of senior positions in the public sector, including Principal Investigation Officer in the Sydney office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman and Director (Benefits) in the NSW office of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

• Giles Short

  Senior Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 31 December 2008

  Giles Short has been a Member of the RRT since July 1997 and has been a Senior Member since January 2003. He was the Director of Research with the Immigration Review Tribunal from 1990 to 1995 and from 1996 to 1997 he was Legal Counsel (South East Region) with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

• John Atkins

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB, BComm

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  John Atkins worked as an articled clerk at Maddock Lonie and Chisholm in 1971 and was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in 1972. He became a partner in that firm in 1974. He became a member of the Victorian Bar in 1977. In 1989 he was appointed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Victoria as a part-time Member dealing with Planning Appeals. He has had broad experience at the Bar specialising in Planning, Local Government and Administrative Law. He has also served as a part-time member of the Nurses Board of Victoria.

• Diane Barnetson

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, B Leg Studies, M Industrial Relations

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Diane Barnetson is currently a Member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal, the NSW Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. She has held previous appointments to the Consumer Claims Tribunal, the Fair Trading Tribunal and the Residential Tribunal. She has worked as a mediator with the Building Disputes Tribunal and as a conciliator with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. She has also worked as an Industrial Advocate for a trade union and as a case worker with the NSW Department of Community Services and the NSW Department of Health.

• Samuel Blay

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB (HONS), LLM, PhD

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Dr Samuel Blay is a former Dean of Law at the University of Tasmania and currently Professor of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney. Apart from refugee law and practice, his main areas of professional interest are International Law, Human Rights, the Law of Torts and International Trade Law. He has published extensively and received major awards in his fields of specialisation. His awards include a United Nations Fellowship in 1988 in Geneva and an Alexander von Humboldt award in 1992 and 2003 for research work in Heidelberg, Germany. He has taught as a Visiting Professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and a Guest Professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

• Wendy Boddison

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 12 July 1999 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Wendy Boddison worked as an Appeals Counsellor with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1992 to 1994. She worked for the office of the Special Prosecutor from 1983 to 1985 and in public prosecutions from 1985 to 1987. From 1987 to 1990 she worked at Messrs Galbally & Rolfe Solicitors. She joined the Victorian Bar in 1990 and transferred to the non-practising list in 2000. She was a Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal from January to May 1999. She has been a lecturer in International Law at Deakin University.

• Susan Borg

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Susan Borg was the Associate to His Honour Justice Cummins of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 1989 to 1991. In 1989 she was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She has been a member of the Victorian Bar since 1991 and signed the High Court Register in the same year. She has been a Sessional Member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal since her appointment in 1999. In 2003 she was also appointed to the Psychologists Registration Board for 3 years. She has spent the last 2 years living in London where she worked as a Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service. She returned to Melbourne in February 2007 where she has resumed her duties with the MRT-RRT.

• Danica Buljan

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Danica Buljan has been a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT, the Supreme Court of NSW, and the High Court of Australia since 1989 as well as the Victorian Supreme Court since 1996. Her public sector experience includes being the National Manager of Bankruptcy Regulation for the Insolvency Trustee Service Australia for a number of years. She has held positions as the Legal Services Director for the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, Deputy Registrar of the RRT in Melbourne and as the Assistant Director of Research at the RRT. Prior to that she worked in the Legal Branch of DIAC and as an Associate to Deputy President R K Todd of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

• Nicole Burns

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA (HONS), Master of Legal Studies (International Law)

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  For most of her career, Nicole Burns has worked in international development, primarily focusing on Asia. She has worked with a mix of multilateral, bilateral and international non-governmental agencies, including AusAID and the UNDP in Indonesia, and most recently with CARE International in Sri Lanka. Over the past decade, she has developed an expertise in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

• Mary Cameron

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Mary Cameron is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She has most recently practised as a corporate lawyer with a major government business enterprise, primarily in commercial and administrative law. She has a background in equal opportunity and anti-discrimination law and practice, and has held a number of senior roles in both the Commonwealth and State public sectors managing equal opportunity and workforce diversity programs. She has also worked for Victoria Legal Aid.

• Catherine Carney

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires 30 June 2009

  Catherine Carney is currently a part-time Member of the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and the Mental Health Review Tribunal. She was most recently a Registrar in the Family Court Sydney Registry. From 1998 until March 2005 she was the Principal Solicitor at Women’s Legal Services, a community legal centre that services disadvantaged women and children. While at the legal centre she developed and implemented legal services to immigrant and refugee women and children in diverse ethnic communities in Western Sydney and rural NSW. She was also the NSW representative on the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Alternate Legal Aid Commissioner (NSW) Board Member of the Legal Aid Commission.

• Jennifer Ciantar

  Part-time Member, Sydney BSW, Dip Admin, LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Jennifer Ciantar previously worked as a social worker and senior policy officer. She has been a part-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. She is the Deputy Chairperson for the NSW Housing Appeals Committee.

• John Cipolla

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 1 December 2000 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  John Cipolla is a part-time Member of the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW and the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. He previously was an administrative law solicitor with the Legal Aid Commission of NSW, a solicitor at the Inner City Legal Centre and a Senior Conciliator at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

• Tim Connellan

  Part-time Member, Melbourne

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Tim Connellan has a business and dispute management background. Having previously served three terms as Victorian President of the Australian Small Business Association, he was a founding board member of the Melbourne Fashion Incubator, Chairman of Jobseekers Over Forty Association and a panel member of Liquor Licensing Victoria. He is currently senior mediator with the Office of the Victorian Small Business Commissioner, State President of LEADR and conducts dispute management training with both the public and private sectors.

• Bronwyn Connolly

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB, BA (Juris)

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Bronwyn Connolly is currently a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. She has worked as Legal Counsel for a number of government departments and authorities. She also currently advises Federal, State and Local Government on corporate governance, probity and procurement issues.

• David Connolly AM

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, DBS, FCPA

  Appointed: 1 July 2002 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  David Connolly was a career diplomat from 1965 to 1974, serving in Colombo, the United Nations New York and Tel Aviv. He was a Member of the Australian Parliament between 1974 and 1996 and a consultant with the legal firm Phillips Fox from 1996 to 1998. He was a Commonwealth adviser to the South African Parliament 1997-1998 and Australian High Commissioner to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland 1998 to 2002. He is a Trustee Director of ARIA formerly the CSS/PSS Commonwealth superannuation funds, Chairman of Rice Warner Actuaries and a Director of the Braidwood Rural Lands Protection Board.

• Michael Cooke

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, Dip Ed

  Appointed: 13 June 2000 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Michael Cooke was previously an adviser to a Federal Minister. He has also worked as a flight attendant (International) with Qantas Airways, a steel worker in Wollongong and as a school teacher in Western Sydney. He has had a long-term interest in immigration and has had an involvement with Manly Warringah ethnic communities.

• Angela Cranston

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB, LLM, Grad Dip Writing

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Angela Cranston worked as a research officer with the Immigration Review Tribunal. Since then, she has worked as a migration agent at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre. She has also worked as a resettlement officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in West Africa.

• Bernadette Cremean

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB, BJuris

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Bernadette Cremean is currently a part-time Member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal sitting mainly in the Residential Tenancies and Civil lists. Prior to which she was a Member of the Crimes Compensation Tribunal (Victorian) and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. Apart from Tribunal positions, she was a solicitor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Victorian) for a number of years and a part-time lecturer at Monash University in Criminal Justice Studies.

• Sue Crosdale

  Part-time Member, Sydney BMed, LLB (Hons), GDLP, LLM, FACLM, AFACHSE

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Dr Sue Crosdale has worked as a medical practitioner, health administrator and solicitor. Her health experience has included working as a Senior Medical Adviser with the Professional Review Division of the Health Insurance Commission and delivering health services to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Her legal practice involved all areas of health law including administrative, employment, anti-discrimination, trade practices and medical negligence. She is a Conjoint Senior Lecturer in the School of Medical Practice and Population Health at the University of Newcastle, Clinical Council Member of the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission and Councillor of the Australian College of Legal Medicine.

• Gabrielle Cullen

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB, LLM (International Law), BCom

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Gabrielle Cullen is admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW. She was formerly with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees working in Australia, and Pakistan, as their Legal/Resettlement Officer. Prior to this she worked as the Refugee Advocacy Officer with the National Council of Churches in Australia, and as a solicitor in private practice.

• Ted Delofski

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (Hons), MPhil (Economics)

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Ted Delofski has a diplomatic and public service background. Diplomatic positions he has held include Australia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, High Commissioner to Singapore, Minister (Economic) in London, and Australia’s senior official Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation representative. In Canberra, he has held the positions of First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Assistant Secretary in the Treasury.

• Richard Derewlany

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS)

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Richard Derewlany previously worked as an Investigations Manager with the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Office, specialising in matters arising from the administration of social security and child support legislation. He has worked as a migration consultant for a number of companies and has also had a number of years experience working at DIAC. He has also been a member of the Management Committee of the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre in Sydney.

• Dione Dimitriadis

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Dione Dimitriadis previously worked as a solicitor in private practice and as a legal officer in the Australian Legal Aid Office, the Public Solicitor’s Office and the Department of Consumer Affairs. She was previously a Referee of the Consumer Claims Tribunals, a Member of the Fair Trading Tribunal, a Member of the Residential Tribunal, a Member of the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and a Strata Schemes Adjudicator.

• David Dobell

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA/LLB, Grad Dip Communications

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  David Dobell has had over 20 years experience in the community/public sector, having worked in a number of community legal centres as a solicitor/advocate and as a community educator. He has specialised in the areas of tenancy and ageing and disability, privacy and human rights policy. He was previously a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal for over 11 years and has also been a Member of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, NSW (Community Services Division), the NSW Housing Appeals Committee and the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

• Namoi Dougall

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (Hons), LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 12 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Namoi Dougall has served on a number of state tribunals including as a Member of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal. She has been a solicitor (Corrs Pavey Whiting & Byrne, Clayton Utz, Middletons Moore & Bevins, and Allen Allen & Hemsley) and an associate to Justice Morling of the Federal Court of Australia. She has also served as a Director on the Boards of the NSW Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Area Health Service, as well as being a policy adviser to a Federal Cabinet Minister and the NSW and Victorian representative on the then Prime Minister’s Republic Advisory Committee.

• Ann Duffield

  Full-time Member, Sydney BA (Hons)

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Ann Duffield has a background in the public service and government. She was head of the Multicultural Affairs Unit in the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet prior to serving 8 years as the senior adviser to a Federal Cabinet Minister.

• Jonathon Duignan

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 8 January 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Jonathon Duignan has worked in the field of migration law for over 17 years. He has previously worked with the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre and with the RRT. He worked as a Training Officer with the Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors and for the Blue Mountains Community Legal Centre prior to his appointment to the MRT. He has also worked as a part-time lecturer in law at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean for several years.

• Suseela Durvasula

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB, BCom, MALP

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Suseela Durvasula is also a part-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. She has worked in a number of areas of the public sector, including, as a policy officer for the Australian Communications and Media Authority, a manager at the MRT, a legal advocate for Centrelink, and a policy officer for the Commonwealth Department of Health and the Department of Housing. She also has been a legal researcher for the Australian Law Reform Commission.

• Jennifer Ellis

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 15 June 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Jennifer Ellis is admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Courts of Victoria and Western Australia. She has worked in the field of migration and refugee law since 1989. She worked as a solicitor with the Australian Government Solicitor from 1995 to 1999 specialising in administrative law particularly in the migration and refugee areas. She began her legal career as a solicitor at Herbert Geer and Rundle and was Associate to the Hon. Mr Justice Vincent of the Victorian Supreme Court. Since 1989 she has worked as a solicitor with the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria and the Sussex Street Community Law Service in Perth and was also a Legal Research Officer with the Immigration Review Tribunal for 2 years. She was a volunteer lawyer with Fitzroy Legal Service from 1986 until 2005.

• Paul Fisher

  Full-time Member, Melbourne BA/LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Paul Fisher practised as an administrative lawyer for over 10 years, chiefly with Victoria Legal Aid. He has also performed voluntary work with a number of community legal centres. Prior to his admission to practice in 1995, he held a variety of positions in both the public and private sectors.

• Mary-Anne Ford

  Part-time Member, Syndey Master of Higher Education, Dip Nurse Education, RMN, Certificate STD

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Mary-Anne Ford has held senior nursing positions for a number of years including the provision of postgraduate nurse education at The Royal Hospital for Women, St Margaret’s and Sydney Hospitals and in the School of Nursing at St Vincent’s Hospital Darlinghurst. Her clinical background includes coronary care, emergency, surgical nursing and midwifery. Within these contexts she has had extensive experience of working with and caring for persons from diverse cultural backgrounds. The postgraduate courses currently conducted by her attract students from Singapore and other countries in South East Asia.

• Bronwyn Forsyth

  Full-time Member, Sydney LLB (HONS), BA (International Studies)

  Appointed: 25 September 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Bronwyn Forsyth is admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW and has experience in the private sector, public sector, and working as an adviser to a Federal Cabinet Minister. As a lawyer in private practice she worked for Baker & McKenzie in Sydney and Singapore. She practised in employment and immigration law and was registered as a migration agent. Her public sector experience includes working as a Senior Legal Officer for DIAC in Canberra providing advice on refugee law, judicial review and lawful decision making.

• Mila Foster

  Part-time Member, Sydney BComm, LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Mila Foster was admitted as a Legal Practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW in 1997. She was working at the RRT as a Legal Officer at the time of her appointment, and had previously worked with the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW (1995-2000) and the St George Migrant Resource Centre (1991-1995).

• Rosa Gagliardi

  Full-time Member, Melbourne BA (Hons)

  Appointed: 31 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Rosa Gagliardi has worked in the Australian Federal Police as a Criminal Intelligence Analyst and then in various capacities in the criminal and security law areas of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. Amongst other things, she oversaw the legislation/litigation areas of the portfolio as Adviser to a Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. She also spent several years working as the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department Liaison Officer to the Minister for Justice and Customs. During May-October 1990 she worked in Rome, Italy at Marymount International School and has taught Italian language to infant and primary school children for the Italian Embassy.

• Adolfo Gentile

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, Dip Tertiary Education, MEd Admin

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Adolfo Gentile was a full-time Member until June 2007 when he became a part-time Member. He is an Advanced Translator (Italian to and from English) accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). He was the Head of the School of Languages, Interpreting and Translating at Deakin University for many years. He has been Chairman of NAATI and the President of the International Federation of Translators. He is also a member of the COMITES for Victoria and Tasmania. He has published on training, practice and research in the field of interpreting and translation.

• Alan Gregory AM

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BCom, BEd, MEd, PhD

  Appointed: 12 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Dr Alan Gregory has worked at Monash University, then Melbourne University, in the fields of economic education, curriculum development and young people with disabilities. He has written extensively on economics and history and his recent books include: Wealth and Welfare; A History of Lord Somers Camp and Power House; and The Ever Open Door (a history of the Royal Melbourne Hospital) and Strong Like Its Pillars (a history of Melbourne High School). He is Chairman of the Gorman Foundation and Chairman of the Sir Robert Menzies Lecture Trust. He was formerly a Member of the Geographic Place Names Committee of Victoria and an adjunct Professor in the Graduate School at Swinburne University.

• George Haddad

  Full-time Member, Melbourne

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  George Haddad was a Member of the MRT (2000-2002). He has extensive experience including in the private sector as a noted restaurateur; as adviser to a Federal Minister; and in developing immigration policy and related legislation. He was also head of the immigration section at the Australian Consulate General in Shanghai. As a member of the Administrative Review Council, he contributed to Better Decisions: Review of Commonwealth Merits Review Tribunals.

• Genevieve Hamilton

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA (HONS), LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2000 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Genevieve Hamilton was admitted to legal practice in Melbourne and then worked as an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1989 to 2000, including as First Secretary at the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York 1995-1998. She was Director of the Association of South East Asian Nations Section, International Policy Division, in the Department of Defence in 2000.

• Luke Hardy

  Part-time Memeber, Sydney BA, MA

  Appointed: 15 September 1993 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Luke Hardy holds an MA in Latin American Studies, his thesis addressing the Central American refugee situation in the 1980s. Prior to joining the Tribunals, he was an officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Thailand and Indonesia. From 1986 to 1991, he was the Executive Director of the Refugee Council of Australia. In 1986, 1988 and 1990, he was the non-government member of Australia’s official delegations to UNHCR’s Executive Committee in Geneva. In the early 1980s, he worked with an Australian NGO resettlement program for refugees in Thailand. He has worked on TV documentaries about refugees, one made in Laos and the other on the Iran-Iraq border, and has written on refugee issues for a number of publications.

• Kerry Anne Hartman

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB, Grad Cert Dispute Resolution

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Kerry Anne Hartman was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW in 1975. She has worked as a solicitor in private practice and as a lecturer in law. She was a part-time Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal in 1999.

• Annabel Hawkins

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB (HONS), LLM

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Annabel Hawkins has worked as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria since 1992 and was admitted to the New York Bar in 2001. She has experience in private practice and with various government departments and legal aid agencies, both in Victoria and in the USA. She was previously a registered nurse. She is also a Sessional Member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and a Legal Member of the Mental Health Review Board.

• Megan Hodgkinson

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA/LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 23 March 2000 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Megan Hodgkinson is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia, and as a Legal Practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW. Her previous experience includes employment as a Legal Officer and an Investigator with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in the Legal Section of the RRT and as a Tipstaff and Research Assistant in the NSW Court of Appeal, as well as voluntary work as a solicitor.

• Diane Hubble

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA/LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Diane Hubble was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1994, and worked as a lawyer in private practice and at Victoria Legal Aid over the next 7 years, mainly in immigration and family law. She is currently a sessional Registrar of the Federal Magistrates Court and a Senior Case Officer with the Child Support Agency. In the past, she has also served as a part-time Member of both the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Mental Health Review Board, and on the Professional Standards Committee of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

• Rodney Inder

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, MA

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Rodney Inder worked in the Australian Council for the Arts and the Department of Defence prior to holding a number of senior executive positions in DIAC including as the Assistant Secretary of the Refugees Branch, Settlement Branch, Ethnic Affairs Branch and Citizenship & Language Services Branch. He has also served as First Secretary in the Australian Embassy in Bangkok (1980-1982) running Australia’s refugee resettlement program, held a senior position in the Africa Bureau of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (1983-1984), and was Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington, also covering the refugee situation in Central America (1985-1987). More recently, he was the inaugural Executive Officer of the Commission for Real Property Claims of Displaced Persons and Refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996), Special Representative of the Director-General for Project Development in Timor, International Organization for Migration (1999), and consultant to Mission Australia on refugee matters (2001).

• Andrew Jacovides

  Part-time Member, Sydney BSW, Assoc Dip Comm Welfare

  Appointed: 19 September 1993 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Andrew Jacovides was previously employed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He was appointed as a part-time Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal in 1999.

• Ricky Johnston

  Part-time Member, Brisbane Dip Gen Nursing

  Appointed: 12 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Ricky Johnston has been involved in the public and private arenas. She was a Member of the House of Representatives and served on several parliamentary committees. She commenced her career life as a registered nurse, has worked in managerial roles in business and companies and participated as Chair and Member on a number of Boards and community organisations.

• Deborah Jordan

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Deborah Jordan is admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Supreme Court of South Australia and in the High Court of Australia. Prior to commencing work in the public sector, she practised as a solicitor in private practice, mainly in family law and in administrative law. She has had experience with legal aid agencies in Victoria and South Australia. Prior to her appointment as a Member, she managed the Melbourne team of the appeals and review section of a Commonwealth agency. She has an interest in equal opportunity law and disability law and has worked in a voluntary capacity for various organisations.

• Peter Katsambanis

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BComm, LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Peter Katsambanis has been a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia since 1991. He has worked as a corporate solicitor in the funds management industry and was formerly a Member of the Victorian Parliament. He has been Chairman of the Australian Greek Welfare Society and is currently a board member of the Korowa Anglican Girls School.

• Kay Kirmos

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Kay Kirmos was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1984. From 1984 until 1999 she practised as a solicitor, variously in a community legal service, for the State Government and in private practice. She worked in her own part-time legal practice from 1989 until 1999, and also conducted administrative reviews as a consultant for 2 Federal Government departments from 1992 until July 2003. She has been a Sessional Member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal since 1999 and a part-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal since January 2007.

• Suzanne Leal

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS), LLB

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Suzanne Leal was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 1992. She was appointed to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (NSW) as a part-time Member in November 2003. In 2006, she published a work of fiction entitled Border Street. She has worked as a criminal lawyer with the Legal Aid Commission of NSW, as a policy adviser at the Criminal Law Review Division of the NSW Attorney General’s Department and as an author for the Australian Criminal Reports.

• Gary Ledson

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BEc, Dip Ed

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Gary Ledson has recently retired from the Victorian Department of Education and Training. He has taught Mathematics and Commerce in several secondary colleges. More recently he has held Principal positions at Sandringham College and Rosebud Secondary College. His last appointment was as Principal of Mornington Secondary College. He also has extensive experience as a Curriculum Consultant and has held a number of voluntary positions on community boards and committees.

• Patricia Leehy

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS), Grad Dip Comm, Dip Arts

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Patricia Leehy worked in various senior executive level positions within the Australian Public Service from 1980 to 1993, following 3 years with the Ethnic Communities’ Council of NSW. She was the Registrar of the RRT from 1993 to 1997. In 1997 she worked as a consultant with the NSW Government Office of Community Housing. She also worked as a Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal in 1999.

• Dominic Lennon

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, LLB, Grad Dip Mil Law

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 1 January 2006 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Dominic Lennon has been a solicitor with the Victorian and Commonwealth Offices of Public Prosecutions and the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA. He was also the Legal Advisor to the Australian Banking Industry Ombudsman and practised at the Victorian Bar in commercial law, employment law and criminal law.

• Christine Long

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS), LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Christine Long has worked in various areas of public law, including as a lawyer for the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, as a solicitor for the Australian Government Solicitor’s Office, as Deputy Registrar for the Federal Court of Australia and as a Senior Assistant Director for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. She has also worked as a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. She is admitted as a solicitor in NSW.

• Amanda MacDonald

  Part-time Member, Sydney BSc, MALP

  Appointed: 1 December 2000 (MRT), 1 January 2006 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Amanda MacDonald was a Conference Registrar and District Registrar with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 1999 to 2001 and a Member and Registrar of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal from 1988 to 2001. She has worked for the Department of Social Security, the Department of Finance and on secondment with KPMG. She was an Acting Senior Member from August 2005 to December 2006.

• Wendy Machin

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, MCom

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Wendy Machin has experience in the public and private sectors. She served for 11 years in the NSW Parliament, holding numerous senior positions, including the role of Minister for Consumer Affairs and Deputy Speaker. Before entering Parliament she worked as a public relations consultant and served in local government. She is currently a Director of NRMA Motoring Services and Chairman of Adventure World Travel and has served on the Board of Save the Children Fund, the National Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and was the Deputy Chair of the Australian Republican Movement (1997-2000). She also consults to private sector companies and government in dispute resolution.

• Philippa McIntosh

  Part-time Member, Sydney

  Appointed: 5 September 1993 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Philippa McIntosh has been a Member of the RRT since 1993, initially as a part-time Member and, for ten years to June 2007, as a full-time Member. She was previously the Co-ordinator of the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (NSW) for 6 years. Prior to 1988 she worked for 9 years with non-government agencies in the UK including the British Refugee Council, variously as a researcher, caseworker and consultant, on issues relating to refugees and asylum seekers.

• Susannah McNeill

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Susannah McNeill has worked as a migration agent/solicitor in both private practice and community legal centres with the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and from March 2001 with the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre. She has served as a Director with the Migration Institute of Australia and was also a member of the Professional Standards Committee of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

• Jane Marquard

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Jane Marquard is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW. She has wide-ranging experience in the public and private sectors. In 2005 she completed a term as a Board Member of the Australian Broadcasting Authority. She represented the Board in local and international forums and was active on numerous sub-committees. She was responsible for a number of policy initiatives, particularly in the areas of content regulation, internet and new media, and digital television. Prior to this, she was Manager, Policy Development, for Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, and Corporate Counsel for the Nine Network. She has worked in commercial law and litigation at Blake Dawson Waldron Solicitors, for the Director of Public Prosecutions in criminal law and at a community legal centre. She has served on the Federation of Commercial Television Stations, the University of Sydney Senate, the Sydney Festival Board, and is a councillor at her local school.

• Rosemary Mathlin

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 1 July 1993 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Rosemary Mathlin was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia in 1983. From 1986 to 1991 she worked as a solicitor for the Legal Aid Commission of NSW. She was a Community Representative on the Refugee Status Review Committee from February 1993 to June 1993.

• David Mitchell

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 7 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  David Mitchell has been a full-time Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) of Victoria and subsequently the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Prior to his appointment to the Victorian AAT, he was the Solicitor to the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria and Assistant Solicitor at the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works. He has lectured and tutored in environmental and administrative law, and he is an accredited mediator and trainer. He has been retained by the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria to appear as counsel in prosecutions, and to provide other consultant advisory and training services. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

• Lilly Mojsin

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB, Dip Ed

  Appointed: 28 July 1997 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Lilly Mojsin is a practising solicitor admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia since 1975. She was a part-time Member of the RRT from July 1997 to July 2003 and a full-time Member to July 2004 when she was reappointed as a part-time Member. She has previously been a part-time Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal and the MRT. She has been a partner of a legal firm and a sole practitioner and has extensive experience in general legal practice. She has also worked for legal aid in NSW and has been an honorary solicitor for a range of community organisations. She has been a Commissioner for Ethnic Affairs (NSW), a part-time consultant to the Ethnic Affairs Commission (NSW), and a Legal Member of the NSW Dental Technicians Registration Board. She has also worked as a conciliation officer with the Counsellor for Equal Opportunity (NSW) and she has tutored in law.

• Deborah Morgan

  Part-time Member, Adelaide LLB

  Appointed: 13 June 2000 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Deborah Morgan has previously lectured and tutored in law and was a consultant solicitor with her main areas of practice being in family and migration law. She has held positions as the Chair of the SA Psychological Board, Member of the SA Optometrists Board, Presiding Member of the SA Optical Dispensers’ Registration Committee and was a Member of the Board of the State Opera of South Australia until September 2004.

• Sydelle Muling

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB, BA Legal Studies (HONS)

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Sydelle Muling has previous experience as a Legal Officer and team leader in the RRT and the Australian Taxation Office. She was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT and the High Court of Australia in 2000.

• Andrew Mullin

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS), Master of Legal Studies

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Andrew Mullin joined the then Department of Foreign Affairs in 1971 and served in Brazil and, as Deputy Head of Mission or Acting Head of Mission, in Sri Lanka, Samoa, Greece, Cyprus and South Korea. He was the Australian High Commissioner in Tonga from 1995 to 1999. He headed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Human Rights Section in 1987-1988 and was a member of the Australian delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1988. He was the DFAT speech writer from 1994-1995 and served as a United Nations electoral observer in Mozambique in 1994.

• Louise Nicholls

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB

  Appointed: 31 October 2001 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Louise Nicholls was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT in 1977. She practised as a solicitor in private practice and in the ACT Legal Aid Office before spending a number of years in Los Angeles and San Francisco (1980-1983). After her return to Canberra she was appointed Senior Instructor at the Australian National University (ANU) Legal Workshop and Lecturer in Legal Ethics at the ANU. From 1990 she worked in private practice and legal aid in the ACT. Since 1996 she has taught students at the College of Law, Sydney and was Solicitor in Charge of the Parramatta office of the Legal Aid Commission of NSW (1996-2001). She has served on various committees of the ACT and NSW Law Societies. She was a full-time Member of the RRT between October 2001 and July 2004 when she was appointed as a part-time Member of both the MRT and the RRT.

• Steve Norman

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Steve Norman has worked in the refugee assessment process for more than 10 years. Amongst other things he has assisted in the drafting of Australia’s contributions to the Expert Roundtable Conferences as part of the Global Consultations on International Protection, he has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Sudan, and he has recently published papers related to the assessment of refugee protection obligations in Australia. For the past few years he has also taught law at the University of Technology, Sydney.

• Irene O’Connell

  Full-time Member, Sydney BSW, LLB, MA, SJD

  Appointed: 28 August 2000 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Dr Irene O’Connell has held academic positions at the University of New South Wales, the University of Waikato (New Zealand) and the University of Western Sydney. She has published journal articles on legal philosophy and was an Examiner for the NSW Legal Practitioners Board. She continues to lecture for the Law Extension Committee, University of Sydney.

• Ann O’Toole

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Ann O’Toole was admitted to practise as a barrister in NSW in 1984. She practised as a barrister in London from 1983 to 1985. From 1985 until 1988 she worked as a Crown Prosecutor for the Director of Public Prosecutions in London. From 1989 to 1990 she was a senior investigative lawyer with the NSW Crime Commission. From 1990 to 2001 she was employed as a Principal Legal Officer with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

• Christopher Packer

  Part-time Member, Sydney LLB, Grad Dip (Legal Practice)

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Christopher Packer is admitted as a legal practitioner to the Supreme Courts of SA and the ACT. His public sector experience includes working at the MRT from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that he worked in DIAC, including as Manager of the NSW Migration Internal Review Office for a number of years. Other government departments he has worked in are the Department of Housing and Construction and the Department of Defence.

• Susan Pinto

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA (HONS), LLB, MA (Criminology)

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Susan Pinto has worked in administrative law for over 10 years. She was previously employed as a legal officer at the RRT. Prior to that she was a strategic analyst at the National Crime Authority and a senior researcher at the Australian Institute of Criminology. She is admitted as a Legal Practitioner in NSW.

• Pauline Pope

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Pauline Pope worked as an officer of DIAC from 1975 to 2003, with 2 overseas postings to The Hague and Kuala Lumpur.

• Noel Pullen

  Part-time Member, Melbourne JP, ASM

  Appointed 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Noel Pullen worked in the finance industry for some 30 years and operated his own consultancy business. He is a former member of the Victorian Parliament and is involved in a number of community and sporting groups.

• Kira Raif

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Kira Raif was admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW in 1998. Prior to joining the Tribunals, she worked in private practice in the area of immigration law for a period of 10 years.

• Greg Robinson

  Part-time Member, Melbourne DES (Masters) International Relations, LLB (HONS), BComm, BA (HONS)

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Greg Robinson is a Melbourne barrister who practises in public and commercial law. Before signing the Bar Roll he was an adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1996 and 1998, advising on international economics and Australia’s relations with Europe. He was an Analyst with the Office of National Assessments, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, from 1998 until 2000, specialising in international trade and economics. From 2000 to 2002 he was a Trade Negotiator with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, during which time he worked on the Australia-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organisation matters.

• Shahyar Roushan

  Full-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB (HONS)

  Appointed: 31 October 2001 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Shahyar Roushan is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT. He has previously worked at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Government Solicitor and the Cape Town office of the South African Human Rights Commission. He has also tutored in law at the Australian National University. In 2004-2005 he was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Gender and Refugee Studies, University of California Hastings College of the Law.

• James Silva

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, LLB, MBA

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  James Silva began his career in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), where he worked from 1983 to 2002. His service included postings to Australian diplomatic missions in Bangladesh (1984-1986), Germany (First Secretary, Bonn) (1991-1995) and the Netherlands (Deputy Ambassador, The Hague) (1997-2001). He occupied various positions in Canberra, most recently as the Director of DFAT’s International Intellectual Property Section. He has also worked in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as Senior Adviser in the International Division (1995), and in the NSW Cabinet Office as Director of Greenhouse and Sustainable Development (2002-2003).

• Don Smyth

  Part-time Member, Brisbane BA, LLB (HONS), MIndEmpRels

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Don Smyth is also a part-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. He has worked in a number of areas of the public sector, including as a Legal Team Leader at the RRT and a Legislation Policy Officer in the Victorian Department of Human Services.

• Louise Spieler

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, BSW

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Louise Spieler began her career in DIAC which included overseas postings as Senior Migration Officer in Belgrade and Principal Migration Officer in Rome. She subsequently moved into the community sector working with newly arrived migrants and refugees at a Migrant Resource Centre before taking up the position of Co-ordinator with the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme at Australian Red Cross Victoria. Prior to being appointed as a part-time Member, she spent 3 years as Case Team Manager with the MRT in Melbourne. During that time she did a 7 month AusAID consultancy with the Papua New Guinea Department of Immigration.

• Linda Symons

  Part-time Member, Sydney BLegS, BA, MAA, LLM

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Linda Symons is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and a solicitor of the High Court of Australia. She has worked as a clerk in Local Courts Administration, as a Legal Officer at the Legal Aid Commission of NSW and the Department of Community Services, as a solicitor in private practice (Nikola Velcic & Associates and Watts McCray Lawyers) and a Deputy Registrar and Registrar of the Family Court of Australia. She has also worked as an investigator and conciliator at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. She is an accredited mediator and conciliator. She is currently also employed part-time as a Registrar of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.

• Karen Synon

  Part-time Member, Melbourne MBA

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Karen Synon has an extensive background in community development. She founded the Westgate Community Initiatives Group, a large provider of services to the unemployed in the western suburbs of Melbourne. She was General Manger of its flagship program Compuskill ITeC from 1987 to 1993. From 1993-1997 she was the First Assistant Secretary for Employment for the Victorian Government and from 1997-1999 served as a Senator for Victoria in the Federal Parliament.

• David Thomas

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, MA, PhD, Juris D

  Appointed: 12 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Dr David Thomas is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW. He was a Board Member of the Victoria Law Foundation from 1994 to 2001. He is a qualified company director with experience in local government and consulting. Prior to his appointment to the MRT, he was the head of the Department of Economics and Law at Swinburne University of Technology and has extensive lecturing experience as well as having worked as a researcher and consultant in education. He has published extensively in Australian and overseas journals.

• Irene Tsiakas

  Part-time Member, Melbourne LLB

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Irene Tsiakas was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1975. From 1975 until 1985 she practised as a solicitor in private practice and for legal aid. She has worked as a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal since 1988 and conducted administrative reviews for the Child Support Agency from 2001 to 2006.

• Peter Tyler

  Part-time Member, Melbourne

  Appointed: 1 July 2007 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Peter Tyler was admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1976 and entered in the Register of Practitioners at the High Court of Australia the following year. He established a general practice in regional Victoria (Tyler, Tipping & Woods). He was an Executive Officer with the Department of Human Services and a member of the Department’s Senior Policy Group. His community involvement has included Board member of the Latrobe Regional Hospital and the hospital’s Research and Ethics Committee, Board member of Latrobe Community Health Service and Councillor of Latrobe City Council. He is a part-time tutor for the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University.

• Mary Urquhart

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BEd (Art), Dip Law, BAB, MAICD

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Mary Urquhart has qualifications in Education, Law, Dispute Resolution and the Arts. She has practised as a Barrister-at-Law in both NSW and Victoria. She is a former Deputy President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where she headed the Civil Claims jurisdiction and later the Anti-Discrimination jurisdiction in the Human Rights Division of the Tribunal. She is also a former Deputy Commissioner of the Victorian Liquor Licensing Commission.

• Lisa Ward

  Part-time Member, Perth LLM

  Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Lisa Ward is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of WA and the High Court of Australia. She previously worked at the Australian Government Solicitor and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions between 1995 and 2001. She has also lectured and tutored in law at the University of Notre Dame. She was a solicitor in London from 1993 to 1995 and for the Royal Commission into Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters from 1991 to 1992.

• Phillippa Wearne

  Part-time Member, Sydney B Juris, LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT AND RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Phillippa Wearne worked as a deputy registrar in the Equity division of the Supreme Court of NSW from 2001 to 2006, and was Registrar of the Protective List. Prior to that, she was a writer for a consumer law website, an electronic editor for a commercial publisher, and a lecturer at the Centre for Plain Legal Language, Faculty of Law, at the University of Sydney. She also lectured in commercial law at the University of NSW from 1987 to 1994.

• Robert Wilson

  Part-time Member, Sydney BEc, LLB, Master of International Studies, Master Human Rights Law

  Appointed: 1 July 2002 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2010

  Robert Wilson had previous experience as a solicitor in a commercial city firm, a legal educator, and a Principal Legal Officer with the Australian Government Solicitor before holding a number of senior management positions in the public sector. He has worked in the area of migration and refugee law for 16 years, and has completed a programme in Human Rights Law at Oxford University.

• Hugh Wyndham

  Part-time Member, Sydney BA, MA

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Hugh Wyndham is a business consultant and a practising mediator, conciliator and trainer. He is Chairman of the Board of a not-for-profit organisation. Immediately prior to establishing his mediation and training practice, he worked for 6 years for P&O in Latin America, setting up new businesses for the P&O Group. Before that he was employed in the Australian diplomatic service, including terms as High Commissioner in Nigeria and Ambassador to Argentina.

• Antoinette Younes

  Full-time Member, Sydney BA, MA (Psychology), GDLP, LLB, LLM

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 1 January 2006 (MRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Antoinette Younes is a solicitor, a psychologist and an accredited mediator with the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre. Prior to her appointment to the RRT, she was Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court of NSW. She has conducted mediations of matters in the Court of Appeal, the Common Law Division and the Equity Division of the Supreme Court. Previously, she worked as a solicitor at a community legal centre. She has also worked at the Health Care Complaints Commission and St Vincent’s Hospital as a psychologist.

• David Young

  Part-time Member, Melbourne BA, MPub Pol, MInt & Comm Devlpt, Prof Cert Arb & Med

  Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT)
  Current term expires: 30 June 2009

  Prior to being appointed to the MRT, David Young spent 11 years at the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in a variety of roles, including Chief Information Officer and Assistant Commonwealth Ombudsman. He was previously a senior adviser to the Victorian Government on crime prevention, law enforcement and counter-disaster planning. Trained as a psychologist, mediator and arbitrator, he currently also serves as a consultant on alternative dispute resolution to the Victorian Small Business Commissioner’s Office. He is also a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Mental Health Review Board.

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