Biographical information - Full-time Members of the Tribunals
Jennifer Beard
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA(Hons), LLB(Hons), Grad. Dip. Legal Prac., LLM (LSE), PhD | Appointed: 1 July 2009 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, Jennifer has worked in various capacities as a human rights lawyer, a Federal Court research associate, a solicitor, a barrister and a university academic. Jennifer has worked in India, Canada, Costa Rica, Sweden and Ethiopia as well as in Australia.
Danica Buljan
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA, LLB (Hons) | Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Danica Buljan has also been appointed by the Victorian Health Services Commissioner to the Investigation Review Panels list to review decisions of the health practitioner registration boards in Victoria. She 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.
Tony Caravella
Full-time Member, Perth | BComm, LLB, Grad Cert P Sect Mgt | Appointed: 1 July 2009 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Before his appointment to the MRT and RRT, Tony Caravella was a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. Prior to that, he was the CEO/State Archivist with the State Records Office of WA. Tony also worked as the State Director for the National Archives of Australia. Prior to that, he held senior management positions with the National Native Title Tribunal, the National Crime Authority and the Australian Securities Commission. Tony commenced his public sector career in the Australian Taxation Office and has also worked with the Department of Employment and Education and the Department of Health and Community Services in programme management positions.
Ruth Cheetham
Full-time Member, Sydney | B.Ed, LLB(G) | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Ruth Cheetham was the Deputy Registrar of the High Court for five years prior to joining the tribunals. She served as a Member of the RRT from 1999 to 2004, prior to which she was a senior solicitor with the Australian Government Solicitor. She has also held the position of Solicitor with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Ruth Cheetham was admitted to practice in 1991.
Denise Connolly
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB (Hons), DipEd | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Denise Connolly has worked in various managerial roles in the Legal and Governance branches of the NSW Department of Human Services. She was a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal for ten years and has been a part time Member of the Psychologists Tribunal. She has also been on the Guardian ad Litem Panel of the NSW Children’s Court. She is admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW and has practised in family law and the care and protection jurisdiction.
Richard Derewlany
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA (Hons) | Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
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
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB | Appointed: 14 July 2003 (MRT), 14 November 2005 (RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
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.
Antonio Dronjic
Full-time Member, Melbourne | LLB (Australia and Bosnia & Herzegovina) LLM | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Antonio Dronjic was the principal of AD Solicitors prior to joining the tribunals. Before starting an independent practice he worked at Law Partners Victoria as a partner and barrister, solicitor and registered migration agent. Prior to establishing himself in Australia, Antonio Dronjic served as a judicial officer in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Alan Duri
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Alan Duri enjoyed an extensive career with Centrelink and the former Department of Social Security before joining the tribunals. He has served as a full time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal for over a decade, and as a Senior Advocate. He has extensive administrative experience as a Social Security Manager.
Suseela Durvasula
Full-time Member, Sydney | LLB, BCom, Masters of Admin Law & Policy | Appointed: 1 October 2001 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Suseela Durvasula was a part-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal from 2003 to 2010. 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.
Paul Fisher
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
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.
Patrick Francis
Full-time Member, Melbourne| BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Before his appointment to the MRT and RRT, Patrick Francis was a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal for seven years. Prior to this, he worked as a Senior Investigation Officer in the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman. He has also worked for the Office of the Public Advocate, Victoria as an Investigator, Advocate and Guardian and as the Senior Investigation and Liaison Officer at the Guardianship Board, Tasmania. Patrick was also an Associate to Senior Member Dwyer of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Michelle Grau
Full-time Member, Brisbane | BA, LLB (Hons) | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Michelle Grau was the District Registrar of the AAT from July 2008 to July 2010. Prior to this, she was the Regional Director Queensland for DFAT and Deputy State Director, Visas and Citizenship, DIAC (2005-2008). Earlier in her career, she worked overseas as the PMO in Singapore and Migration Officer in China. She has been a Legal Adviser in the RRT and Department of Immigration as well as a lawyer in private practice with the firms of Corrs in Brisbane and Norton Rose in the UK.
George Haddad
Full-time Member, Melbourne | Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
George Haddad was a Member of the MRT (2000-2002). He has extensive experience, including as an 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.
Ismail Hasan
Full-time Member, Sydney | LLB, BSocWk, MSS, BSS | Appointed: 1 July 2009 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Ismail Hasan was admitted as a Legal Practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW in 2000. He was a full-time Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal from January 2004 to June 2009. He has practised social work for a number of years while working for the Department of Social Security and Centrelink. He was a Migration Agent for a few years. He was a lecturer of Welfare Studies at a TAFE college for a period of time.
Brook Hely
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), LLM | Appointed: 1 July 2009 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Brook Hely is admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Victorian and NSW Supreme Courts, as well as the High Court of Australia. He most recently worked for several years as a senior lawyer with the Australian Human Rights Commission. Prior to this, he worked as a solicitor in private practice litigation, primarily at Minter Ellison in Melbourne. He has been a volunteer solicitor with several community organisations, particularly the Fitzroy Legal Service and Kingsford Legal Service, as well as a former volunteer board member of the Victorian Council to Homeless Persons. He is also a former part-time Member of the Commonwealth Classification Review Board and former part-time lecturer at the University of NSW in discrimination law.
Margret Holmes
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA | Appointed: 1 July 2009 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Margret Holmes has extensive experience in senior management and policy positions in the Commonwealth public service and the Victorian public sector. She was a full-time Member of the RRT from 1997 until 2004. Before returning to the Tribunals in 2009, she worked as an adviser to Victoria’s Director of Police Integrity and, later, as the Director of Corporate Governance at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade where she was responsible for a broad range of corporate functions. Margret is a member of the Victorian Womens Trust and of Oxfam.
Simon Jeans
Full-time Member, Sydney | BEc, BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Simon Jeans is a solicitor and an accredited specialist in immigration law. He has worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Hong Kong, UNHCR on Galang Island, Indonesia, the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and the Administrative Law Section of Legal Aid NSW. Prior to joining the Tribunal he was a sole practitioner.
Don Lucas
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA, LLB, Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Don Lucas has practised as a Solicitor since 1995 and has been an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law since 2000. Don has a broad background in administrative law which has included refugee and general migration advocacy with Victoria Legal Aid (1997-2006) and in private specialist practice from 2006 until his present appointment to the Tribunals.
Alison Mercer
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Alison Mercer served as a Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal prior to joining the tribunals. She has also previously served at the MRT-RRT as both a Senior Legal Officer and Legal Officer. Alison Mercer also has experience in private legal practice and the community legal sector.
Paul Millar
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB, LLM (Georgetown) | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Paul Millar has recently returned to Australia from New Zealand, where he served as a Member, and then Senior Member, of both the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and the Residence Review Board from 1996 to 2009. During that time he performed short term consultancies for UNHCR in South Africa, Malaysia and Romania. Prior to this, he was an Investigations Officer in the Office of the NSW Ombudsman (1995-1996) and Appeals Counsellor with the UNHCR in Hong Kong (1992-1994).
David Mitchell
Full-time Member, Melbourne | LLB (Hons) | Appointed: 7 July 1999 (MRT), 1 July 2004 (RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
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.
Adam Moore
Full-time Member, Melbourne | LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Adam Moore is an accredited mediator. Until recently, he was a Deputy District Registrar of the Federal Court of Australia and a Registrar of the Federal Magistrates Court. He left the courts to establish a mediation practice. Prior to this, he was the Assistant General Manager, Legal & Policy at the Legal Services Board (2005-2006), General Counsel, Midas Asia Pacific Pty Ltd (2005) and Corporate Counsel Australasia/Asia and Company Secretary, Blockbuster Australia Pty Ltd (2001-2005). Earlier in his career, he was an Associate and a Solicitor at two law firms.
Louise Nicholls
Full-time Member, Sydney | LLB | Appointed: 1 October 2001 (RRT), 1 July 2004 (MRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Louise Nicholls was admitted to practice in NSW and the ACT in 1977. She has practised as a solicitor in private practice, in the ACT Legal Aid Office, as a Senior Instructor at the Australian National University (ANU) Legal Workshop and a Lecturer in Legal Ethics at the ANU. 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 the Professional Conduct Committee of the ACT Law Society and the Ethics Committee of the NSW Law Society. She was a part time Member of the NSW Consumer, Tenancy and Trading Tribunal from 2007-2010.
Charlie Powles
Full-time Member, Melbourne | LLB, Associate Diploma Dramatic Art | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Before his appointment to the Tribunals, Charlie Powles was employed at the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre where he worked as a Solicitor and a Registered Migration Agent and, after January 2009, as Senior Policy Officer. Prior to this, he was a Solicitor and Registered Migration Agent with Holding Redlich (2001-2004).
Andrew Rozdilsky
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2010 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2015
Andrew Rozdilsky completed a Master of Laws degree in Public International Law at London University prior to working with the United Nations, first at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, and then joining UNHCR first under the Comprehensive Plan of Action in Malaysia, then as Legal Officer for UNHCR in Canberra. He was appointed as a Member of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board in 1996, and served in both the Refugee Protection and Immigration Appeals Divisions (RPD and IAD), in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. Following the completion of his ten year term he was retained by the IRB as a Senior Advisor and Coach for new members, and worked as a Dispute Resolution Officer in the IAD’s Alternative Dispute Resolution initiative. He has also worked as Team Lead, Mediation for the Financial Services Commission of Ontario.
Hugh Sanderson
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2011 | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Prior to joining the tribunals, Hugh Sanderson was a Registrar of the Family Court of Australia from 1996 to 2011 with two and a half years off, starting in July 2007, when he lived in New Zealand. Whilst in New Zealand he worked as a Review Officer hearing appeals from decisions of New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Commission. Whilst with the Family Court, Hugh was originally based out of the Parramatta Registry, with the last 16 months working out of the Sydney Registry. Prior to his time with the Family Court, Hugh worked as a solicitor in Newcastle. He was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia in 1986 and in 2007 was admitted to the New Zealand High Court.
Wan Shum
Full-time Member Sydney | BCom, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Wan Shum previously worked at the MRT-RRT as a Senior Legal Officer. Her prior experience included employment as an officer of Department of Immigration, as a MRT-RRT case officer and working in private practice in immigration law. Wan Shum has been admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of NSW.
James Silva
Full-time Member, Sydney | BA, LLB, MBA | Appointed: 14 July 2003 (RRT), 14 November 2005 (MRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
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).
Christopher Smolicz
Full-time Member, Adelaide | BA (Jur), LLB (Hons), GCLP | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Christopher Smolicz was the Principal Legal Officer and Managing Prosecutor in the Tax/Commercial Prosecution Branch at the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for over 10 years prior to joining the tribunals. He was admitted as a barrister, solicitor attorney and proctor at the Supreme Court of South Australia. He has also served as an Investigator at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Jan Speirs
Full-time Member, Brisbane | LLB, Grad.Dip. Ed., MBA | Appointed: 1 July 2011 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Prior to joining the tribunals Jan Speirs was General Counsel at the Crime and Misconduct Commission of Queensland. Prior to her time at that Commission she held a number of senior positions at the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. These included Assistant Director Enforcement and Regional Commissioner for the Northern Territory. Earlier in her career Jan worked as a solicitor in private practice and as a part-time university lecturer in Victoria.
Fraser Syme
Full-time Member, Brisbane | BA, LLB | Appointed: 1 July 2011 | Current term expires: 30 June 2016
Fraser Syme was a registered migration agent and a legal practitioner prior to joining the tribunals. He was admitted as a solicitor from 1999 to 2006 and barrister from 2006 until 2011 at the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia. He continues as a part -time lecturer in migration law at the Australian National University.
Linda Symons
Full-time Member, Sydney | BLegS, BA, MAA, LLM | Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Linda Symons has worked as a lawyer in the NSW State Government, the private sector and in the Federal Government. In the NSW State Government, she worked at the Legal Aid Commission of NSW and the Department of Community Services. In the private sector, Linda worked in a small suburban firm and a large city firm. In the Federal Government, she worked at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, as a Registrar in the Family Court of Australia and a Registrar in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia. Linda is an accredited mediator and conciliator.
Mary Urquhart
Full-time Member, Melbourne | BEd (Art), Dip Law, BAB | Appointed: 1 July 2006 (MRT and RRT) | Current term expires: 30 June 2014
Mary Urquhart has qualifications in Education, Law, Dispute Resolution and the Arts. She was the Deputy Principal Member of the RRT between September 2007 and June 2009 when she resigned her position. She had been an Acting Senior Member of the MRT from October 2007 to December 2008. She is admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Courts of NSW and Victoria and has practised in both states. She was entered in the Register of Practitioners at the High Court of Australia in 1987. 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.
Robert Wilson
Full-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 2015
Robert Wilson has had wide legal experience. He has worked in the area of migration and refugee law for 18 years, and has completed a Masters programme in Human Rights Law at Oxford University.
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