Our Board

The Legal Aid NSW Board consists of eight part-time members including the Chair, and one full-time member, who is the CEO of Legal Aid NSW.

Part-time board members are appointed by the NSW Attorney General for a period of up to three years, except for the Chair, who is appointed for a period up to five years.

Support for Uluru Statement from the Heart

At a meeting on 29 June 2021 the Board of Legal Aid NSW gave its support to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The context of the Board’s support is in the following resolution:

“The Board acknowledges the award of the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize to the Uluru Statement from the Heart (‘the Uluru Statement’). We support the Uluru Statement and the outcomes sought therein.

“The Board shares the concerns expressed in the Uluru Statement as to the high incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in out of home care. The Board is committed to developing Legal Aid policies and supporting initiatives directed at improving access to justice for First Nations people.”

Board support for a Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum

At a meeting on 29 August 2023 the Board of Legal Aid NSW gave its support to the Voice to Parliament referendum, as follows:

“The Board of Legal Aid NSW supported the Uluru Statement from the Heart and we now strongly support a Yes vote in the Voice to Parliament referendum.

“The Board considers that providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with a Constitutionally recognised Voice to make representations on proposed Commonwealth laws and policies that relate to them can only help in developing solutions for Closing the Gap; advance the cause of reconciliation; and is the right thing to do.”

The statements by the Board in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice to Parliament express the collective viewpoint of the Board members and are not made on behalf of Legal Aid NSW

Board members

Craig Smith – Chair

Dip Law (BAB), Dip Crim (SYD)

Craig Smith was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as Chair of the Legal Aid NSW Board in February 2013. Mr Smith has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

A former Judicial Registrar of the District Court of NSW, Mr Smith has four decades of experience in the administration of justice in NSW. He has worked in various government legal and policy positions, including senior positions with the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was a director of court services and then director of judicial support before his appointment as a judicial registrar in 2010.

Portrait of Monique Hitter, Chief Executive Officer

Monique Hitter – Legal Aid NSW CEO

BSW, Dip Law

Monique is currently the CEO of Legal Aid NSW and was appointed to the role in July 2022. Prior to this she was the Acting CEO from November 2021. Monique was our Deputy CEO from November 2018 to November 2021 and prior to that was the Director, Civil Law for 11 years.

Monique has been practising law since 1997 and has also served as a senior member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in the Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division.

In over 30 years working in social justice, Monique is especially proud of having established the Civil Law Service for Aboriginal Communities and the Children’s Civil Law Service, and of expanding the reach and scope of the Legal Aid NSW Civil Law Program, such that the Productivity Commission in its landmark Inquiry into Access to Justice Arrangements stated that it set the national benchmark for the provision of civil law services.

More recently in her role as Deputy CEO, Monique led a process to establish new policies in response to sexual harassment and unacceptable behaviour, the development of the Family Law

Blueprint and the Legal Aid NSW response to the pandemic.

Peggy Dwyer – Board member

BA LLB (ANU), PhD (University of Edinburgh)

Peggy Dwyer was appointed as a representative of the NSW Bar Association by the NSW Attorney General and has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

Dr Dwyer was called to the bar in 2010 after more than 10 years as a solicitor and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2023.

She has a busy practice in criminal law, inquests, Commissions of Inquiry and medical disciplinary law. She appeared as Senior Counsel Assisting the NSW Coroner in the Inquest into the Deaths at Bondi Junction and for the NT Coroner in the Inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker. She appeared as Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into the Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse and as Counsel for NAAJA in the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.

Dr Dwyer appears in a wide range of criminal matters, including jury trials, appeals, the Children’s Court and State Parole Authority hearings.

As a solicitor, she worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) in the Northern Territory and the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office. Dr Dwyer was an Associate to Justice Michael Kirby in the High Court of Australia between 1995 and 1996.

Ainslie van Onselen – Board member

LLB (UWA), MAppFin, GDipAppFin (Finsia), GAICD

Ainslie van Onselen was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of consumer and community interests, with her current term extended to 26 September 2025.

For more than 20 years, Ms van Onselen enjoyed a parallel career as a law partner and non-executive director before progressing into senior executive roles at Westpac. Since May 2020 she has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).

Ms van Onselen is passionate about social justice, inclusion and diversity. She previously held the role of Global Director of Women’s Markets, Inclusion and Diversity for Westpac and currently chairs Kambala Girls School and Chartered Accountants Worldwide, a global network of 15 leading Chartered Accountancy institutes with 1.8 million members and students across more than 190 countries. She is a non-executive director of Global Accounting Alliance and share registry company Automic Group and a former Deputy Chairperson of the Insurance Commission of Western Australia.

A member of Chief Executive Women Australia, an Australian Financial Review Women of Influence winner and a former 40 under 40 WA Business News and University of Western Australia Award winner, Ms van Onselen was invited to represent CAANZ and the accounting and auditing professions at the Australian Government’s 2022 Jobs Summit.

As well as steering CAANZ’s strategy and digital and data transformation, Ms van Onselen drives CAANZ’s inclusion and diversity agenda and is a prominent advocate for global sustainability and environmental, social and corporate governance standards.

Michael Coleman – Board member

M Comm, B Comm, FAICD Life, FCA, FCPA

Michael Coleman was appointed as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit Legal Aid NSW. Mr Coleman has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

The Board also appointed Mr Coleman as Chair of the ARC from 29 June 2016.

Mr Coleman is a chartered accountant. He retired from KPMG in 2011 following a career that included 30 years as an audit partner and practice leader.

Mr Coleman sits on several other boards and audit committees and was a board member of Macquarie Bank Limited, having been a director and Chair of the audit committees of Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank from 2012 until 2022. He was Chair of Bingo Industries Limited from listing in 2017 until its takeover in 2021, was a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s audit committee and previously held several significant roles with the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mr Coleman is an Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales Australian School of Business, Deputy Chair and Audit Committee Chair of Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, a Governor and Chairman of the Risk and Audit Committee of The Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology and a director of the Bionics Institute. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.

Portrait of Richard Leigh Henry, Board member

Richard Henry – Board member

AM, MB BS, MD, FRACP, Dip Clin Epi

Richard Henry was appointed as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit Legal Aid NSW. Dr Henry has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

Dr Henry is an Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). He was a Professor of Paediatrics at both the University of Newcastle and UNSW and has held senior leadership roles in both the university and health sectors. From 2006 to 2012, he was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Vice-President at UNSW.

Since his retirement from UNSW, he has worked as a consultant in health and higher education. He is currently Professor of Health Leadership in the Macquarie Business School at Macquarie University. Dr Henry’s current unpaid roles include Director of the Children’s Cancer Institute and Director of Luminesce Alliance. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 for service to paediatric respiratory medicine as a clinician, researcher, educator and mentor, and for serving in a range of roles with professional medical organisations.

Sue Gilchrist – Board member

LLM, BA LLB (Hons)

Sue Gilchrist was appointed as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit Legal Aid NSW. Ms Gilchrist has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

Ms Gilchrist is a senior disputes partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, specialising in intellectual property and tech. She has been a lead support partner for the firm’s pro bono team. She is experienced in all areas of intellectual property, including patents, designs, copyright, trademarks, passing off, and confidential information. She is regularly recognised in the top ranking of legal profession directories for intellectual property litigation.

Ms Gilchrist has strong management experience, having previously served as the Regional Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer for Asia and Australia. She served 2 terms as an elected member of the Global Council for Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and was a member of its Audit and Risk Committee. She has also been the Chair of her firm’s global governance body for Pro Bono and Responsible Business, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Committee.

She is also a member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee of the Art Gallery of NSW.

Portrait of Elizabeth McEntyre, Legal Aid NSW Board member

Elizabeth McEntyre – Board member

BSW (Hons 1 UoN), MIndigHlth, GradCertIRTP, PhD Social Work and Criminology (UNSW)

Elizabeth McEntyre was appointed to the Board on the 21 October 2024 by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of bodies providing community legal services.

Elizabeth is a Worimi Guringai and Wonnarua Elder belonging to Lands, Seas and Waters spanning Port Stephens, the Myall Lakes, the Barrington Tops, and the Hunter Valley in NSW.

Elizabeth is a mental health social worker in disability and justice, research consultant, and a member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal conducting civil and forensic hearings. Her career portfolio involves employment in leadership positions with the Aboriginal Community-Led sector, and the Commonwealth and NSW Public Service providing her with broad knowledge and experience in primary health, social and emotional wellbeing, criminal justice, disability, community capacity uplift, Aboriginal cultural fishing, small business, strengthening Aboriginal families, and Aboriginal ageing and aged care. For her significant contribution to Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing and criminal justice research, Elizabeth received the 2024 Indigenous Allied Health Australia Excellence in Research Award.

Elizabeth serves on several boards and committees, and is an Advisor to professional associations, health consultants, Universities, and consultative groups, including the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department and the Department of Health and Aged Care. She volunteers time to the Port Stephens Central Coast National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Port Stephens Great Lakes Marine Park.

Jacqueline Dawson – Board member

MA, LLB (University of Sydney), GAICD

Jacqueline Dawson is the Principal of Sexton Family Law and an Accredited Specialist in Family Law. Admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1994 and an Accredited Specialist since 2001, Ms Dawson began practice in early 1995 with the firm then known as Robyn Sexton & Associates and remained as a principal of the firm when Judge Sexton was appointed to the Federal Magistrates Court.

Ms Dawson is a Councillor of the Law Society of NSW. Within the NSW Law Society, she is presently Chair of the Specialist Accreditation Board, Co-Chair of the Family Law Committee, Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee and a member of the Audit Risk and Finance Committee.

She also serves as a committee member of the Sydney University

Law Extension Committee and the Legal Qualifications Committee of the Legal Profession Admission Board.