Former senior judge named chair of the national accounting ethics board

Milne will hand over the reins on 26 March 2026 after serving three terms as board chair for seven years before Garling’s appointment as the board’s fourth chair, effective 27 March 2026.

The incoming board chair has an extensive legal career, with governance experience and knowledge of ethics, which the board said would be an invaluable asset to the board.

With a 46-year legal career under his belt, Garling specialised in professional negligence, commercial and insurance law, and administrative law. He also served as a judge of the Supreme Court of NSW, sitting in both the civil and criminal jurisdiction, after being appointed to the court in 2010, and had a farewell in an informal Supreme Court sitting on 18 December 2025.

Garling was admitted to the Bar in 1979 after practising as a solicitor. In 1994, he took silk and was appointed senior counsel, before being elected to the Bar Council in 2006.

Garling has appeared extensively in royal commissions and public inquiries as a senior counsel, including those into the 1997 Thredbo landslide, the Glenbrook and Waterfall railway accidents, HIH Insurance’s collapse, and the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation’s affairs. He also served as the commissioner who conducted the special commission of inquiry into acute care services in NSW public hospitals.

Law was more than just Garling’s career; it was also in his veins. In 1830, his ancestor, Frederick Garling, became the first appointed Crown prosecutor in NSW and one of the first solicitors admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW.

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“I have always taken a keen interest in the accounting profession and its Code of Ethics, and I look forward to working with my fellow directors and management as we continue to set exemplary standards of professionalism and ethical behaviour across the profession,” Garling said.

“I am honoured and privileged to lead the board, following the example set by my distinguished predecessors, to continue APESB’s vital work in the public interest.”