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‘Milestone appointment’: Victoria appoints first Aboriginal member to VCAT
The Victorian government has appointed the state’s first Aboriginal woman to serve as a member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Naomi Neilson
Source: linkedin.com/company/vcat-au/
Michelle Gardner, an Aboriginal woman from the Gunditjmara nation, has held a range of roles in Aboriginal policy and legal organisations for more than 30 years. For seven, she served at the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW, leading a team responsible for handling the conciliation of complaints and public awareness of anti-discrimination law.
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Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said Ms Gardner brings a wide range and a depth of vital experience to this new role, in what is a milestone appointment for Victoria.
“We must continue to ensure more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are in senior positions at our courts and tribunals,” Ms Hennessy said.
Ms Gardner was previously the Aboriginal programs manager at the Department of Environment, developing policy to engage Aboriginal communities. In 2006, she took on presiding tribunal legal member at the NSW Mental Health Review and would preside over hearings at the Social Security Appeals Tribunal in 2009.
She joins several new appointments and reappointments, which consist of new members Mary Cameron, Chris Thwaites and Brook Hely and the returning members Bernadette Steele and Karina Shpigel.
“With decades of legal and tribunal experience between them, these new members are perfectly suited to preside over the matters heard at VCAT,” Ms Hennessey said.
“I congratulate all the appointees and reappointees and thank them for their contribution to what is considered to be Australia’s busiest tribunal.”
