About Us

The National Judicial College of Australia was established in May 2002 as an independent entity, incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. It is funded by contributions from the Commonwealth and some State and Territory governments. For background documents on the establishment of the College, see the Publications page of this website.

The Constitution of the College provides for control by the judiciary with outside representation.

The Council is comprised of four judicial members, a member nominated by the Commonwealth Attorney General, and a member nominated by participating State and Territory Attorneys General.

The NJCA Council

The current members of the NJCA Council are:

Chief Justice Wayne Martin Supreme Court of Western Australia	Nominee of the Chief Justices of the State or Territory Supreme Courts and chair appointed by the Chief Justice of the High Court
Justice Susan Kenny Federal Court of Australia	Nominee of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court and the Family Court
Justice Tom Wodak County Court of Victoria	Nominee of the Chief Judges of the District or County Courts
Chief Magistrate Steven Heath Magistrates Court of Western Australia	Nominee of the Chief Magistrates of the Federal Magistrates' Court and Magistrates’ or Local Courts
Mr Robert Ellicott QC	Nominee of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth
Ms Renee Leon ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety	Nominee of the Attorneys General of the participating States and Territories

Alternate members of the NJCA Council

The current alternate members of the Council are:

Justice Debra Mullins Supreme Court Queensland	Nominee of the Chief Justices of the State or Territory Supreme Courts
Justice Linda Dessau Family Court of Australia	Nominee of the Chief Justice of the Federal Court and the Family Court
Judge Maragret Sidis District Court of NSW	Nominee of the Chief Judges of the District or County Courts
Chief Magistrate Ron Cahill Magistrates Court of the A.C.T.	Nominee of the Chief Magistrates of the Federal Magistrates' Court and Magistrates’ or Local Courts
Ms Kathy Leigh First Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department	Nominee of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth
Vacant	Nominee of the Attorneys General of the participating States and Territories

NJCA Regional Convenors

The current NJCA regional convenors are:

Australian Capital Territory	Magistrate Beth Campbell, Magistrates Court of the ACT
New South Wales	Magistrate Hugh Dillon, Local Court of New South Wales
Northern Territory	Justice Trevor Riley, Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
Queensland	Magistrate Michael Barnes, Magistrates Court of Queensland
South Australia	Judge Christine Trenorden, Environment Development and Resources Court of South Australia
Tasmania	Deputy Chief Magistrate Michael Hill, Magistrates Court of Tasmania
Victoria	Deputy Chief Magistrate Jelena Popovic, Magistrates Court of Victoria
Western Australia	Judge Julie Wager, District Court of Western Australia

NJCA Consultative Committee

The following are current members of the NJCA Consultative Committee:

Magistrate Robert Lawrence
Magistrates Court of Western Australia
Nominee of the Australian Association of Magistrates

Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Cannon
Magistrates Court South Australia
Nominee of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration

Mr Ross Ray QC
Owen Dixon Chambers, Melbourne
Nominee of the Law Council of Australia

Justice David Lloyd
Land and Environment Court NSW
Nominee of the Judicial Conference of Australia

Professor Murray Raff
University of Canberra
Nominee of the Council of Law Deans

Professor Michael Coper
Australian National University
Nominee of the NJCA's host institution

Mr Ian Gilbert
Director, Retail Policy, Australian Bankers' Association Inc.
Nominee of the Attorneys General of the Commonwealth and participating States and Territories

Ms Janet Meagher AM
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
Nominee of the Attorneys General of the Commonwealth and participating States and Territories

NJCA secretariat

Director	Mr John Mc Ginness
Deputy Director	Ms Anne O'Connell
Conference co-ordinator	Ms Wendy Forster
Executive Assistant	Ms Jane Avent
Casual Assistant	Mr Nathan Hall