Our Board

The Board consists of non-executive members, appointed by the Attorney General, and the Chief Executive Officer.

Craig Smith (Chair) Dip Law (BAB) Dip Crim (SYD)

Craig was re-appointed by the NSW Attorney General as Chair of the Board for the period 23 June 2016 to 22 June 2019.

A solicitor and former Judicial Registrar, District Court of NSW, Craig has 42 years experience in the administration of justice in NSW. He has worked in various government legal and policy positions, including senior positions with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He was Director Court Services and then Director Judicial Support prior to his appointment as Judicial Registrar in 2010.

Craig has served as Chair of the Legal Aid Board since the 18 February, 2013.

Michael Coleman MComm, B Comm, FAICD, FCA, FCPA

Michael was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit the Commission for the period 23 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

The Board also appointed Michael as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee from 29 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

Michael is a Chartered Accountant. He retired from KPMG in 2011 after a career that included 30 years as an audit partner and practice leader, having led both Audit and Risk Management & Regulation. Michael is a member of the boards of Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank, where he chairs the Audit Committees. Michael is a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Audit Committee; a member of the Advisory Board of Bingo Industries Limited and has a number of significant roles with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, including National Board member, Chairman of the Audit Committee, NSW Councillor and Chairman of the Reporting Committee.

An experienced director and Chairman, a pragmatic risk manager and an Audit Committee expert, Michael’s current roles include Adjunct Professor, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales; Chairman of Planet Ark Environmental Foundation; a board member of Osteoporosis Australia and Belvoir St Theatre Foundation. He is a past Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council and ING Management Limited.

Emeritus Professor Richard Leigh Henry, AM MB BS, MD, FRACP, Dip Clin Epi

Richard was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit the Commission for the period 23 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

Richard is Emeritus Professor and Pro-Chancellor of UNSW Australia. He was Professor of Paediatrics at both University of Newcastle and UNSW and held senior leadership roles in both the university and health sectors. From 2006-2012, he was 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. Current unpaid roles include Pro-Chancellor at UNSW, Director Children’s Cancer Institute, Trustee Sydney Grammar School, Chair Board of Centre for Social Impact and Director Paediatrio.

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 serving in a range of roles with professional medical organisations.

Sue Gilchrist LLM, BA/L (Hons)

Sue was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative who, in the opinion of the NSW Attorney General, possesses skills and experience that would benefit the Commission for the period 23 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

Sue is the Regional Managing Partner, Asia & Australia of Herbert Smith Freehills. Sue is also a senior Intellectual Property disputes partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and she is experienced in all intellectual property areas, including patents, designs, copyright, trademarks, passing off and confidential information. Sue was the lead partner acting for Apple in the Apple v Samsung patent and design litigation relation to tablets and smartphones.

Sue is the Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

Sue is regularly recognised in legal directories, for example she is ranked in Band 1 for Patents and “has an enviable reputation, with sources singling her out as one of the top lawyers in her field” (Chambers & Partners 2014 and 2015).

In her role as Regional Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills, Sue is involved in Herbert Smith Freehills’s pro bono and diversity initiatives.

Dr. Peggy Dwyer BA LLB (ANU) Ph.D (University of Edinburgh)

Peggy was re-appointed by the NSW Attorney General as representative of the NSW Bar Association for the period 23 June 2016 to 22 June 2019.

Peggy appears in a wide range of criminal matters, including jury trials, contested hearings, appeals, Children’s Court matters and State Parole Authority hearings. She has a busy practice in coronial proceedings, appearing as Counsel Assisting the Coroner (in the Northern Territory and NSW) and counsel for interested parties. Peggy is currently Counsel for the family of Tory Johnson in the inquiry into the three deaths arising from the Lindt Café Siege.

Peggy also appears in disciplinary tribunals including the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Medical Council, for both prosecution and defence.

Darryl Ian Browne LLB

Daryl was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of the Law Society of NSW for the period 23 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

Darryl is an Accredited Specialist in Wills and Estates. His forte is estate planning (involving wills, superannuation, powers of attorney, enduring guardian appointments, advance care directives, trusts and related aspects), but he also conducts estate and other litigation for clients. He advises clients concerning commercial law issues (including business acquisitions, leases, employment issues and planning matters) as well as with conveyancing and related real estate transactions.

Darryl’s professional achievements include Director (Councillor) of the Law Society New South Wales, Chair of Ethics Committee, Deputy Chair of the Elder Law and Succession Committee, Member Specialist Accreditation Board, Member Legal Aid Commission Board, Graduate AICD, Member STEP, Member SMSF Association,Member Future Prospects of Young Graduates Working Group and Member Elder Abuse Working Group.

Rachel Francois BA (UNSW), LLB (UNSW)

Rachel was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as representative Unions NSW for the period 23 June 2016 -22 June 2019.

Rachel is a barrister at the NSW Bar. Rachel specialises in discrimination law and consumer protection cases and also practices in administrative law and commercial litigation. Rachel was employed by Legal Aid NSW as a solicitor in civil litigation between 1996 and 2000. During that time, Rachel was a member of the PSA Departmental Committee and a delegate to the Peak Consultative Committee. Rachel has a strong commitment to union principles and social justice. Rachel was a member of the NSW Bar Council in 2007 and was junior counsel assisting ASIC in its investigations into the corporate wrongdoing of HIH Insurance and James Hardie. Rachel’s more recent cases include the class actions against Cash Converters in relation to alleged unlawful interest rates and the landmark sexual harassment decision in Richardson v Oracle (2014) 223 FCR 334.

Associate Professor Anna Cody LLM (Harvard), GDip LP (UTS), LLB (UNSW), BA (UNSW)

Anna was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of bodies providing community legal services for the period 23 June 2016 - 22 June 2019.

Anna is an Associate Professor and Director of Kingsford Legal Centre which is a community legal centre specialising in discrimination and employment law. Anna has a Masters in Law from Harvard University and Bachelor of Arts and Law from University of New South Wales. The Centre is part of the University of New South Wales Law Faculty and teaches law students to think critically about the law and legal system. She has worked at the Centre for over 15 years. During that time the Centre has won various awards including the 2001 Australian Awards for University Teaching, Law and Legal Studies, 2001 (the Centre) and 2009 (individually) UNSW Vice-chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and 2010 Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. In 2007 Anna Cody won the NSW Women Lawyers achievement award in the government/community lawyer section. From 2011 to 2013 Anna was the Chair of CLCNSW and member of the Board of Law Access. She was also the Deputy Chair of the NSW Legal Assistance Forum. She is currently a Board member of the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

She has also worked in human rights in Mexico, specialising in disability and migrant rights, in international development work in East Timor and Indonesia, and for 2 years with the Center for Economic and Social Rights in New York developing their program on the right to health, focussing on mining and human rights issues. Anna has previously worked with Indigenous women in Alice Springs establishing a domestic violence service, and in community legal education in El Salvador.

Ainslie van Onselen LLB (UWA), MAppFin, GDipAppFin, GAICD

Ainslie was re-appointed by the NSW Attorney General as representative of Consumer & Community Welfare Interests for the period 23 June 2016 to 22 June 2019.

Ainslie has practised as a commercial litigator for over 18 years and is admitted to practise law in several jurisdictions across Australia. Ainslie was the former Director and National President of the Migration Institute of Australia, former columnist for the Legal Affairs section of The Australian Newspaper, former panelist on The Contrarians - Sky News and former an Associate Professor of the University of Western Australia.

Ainslie is currently the Global Director of Women’s Markets, Inclusion & Diversity of the Westpac Banking Corporation.

Richard Funston, Acting CEO Legal Aid NSW Brendan Thomas, BA Chief Executive Officer

Appointed by the NSW Attorney General, Brendan commenced in his role as Chief Executive Officer of Legal Aid NSW in May 2017.

Before this Brendan was the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Justice. Brendan worked for the Department of Justice for more than 20 years and has a strong track record of designing and implementing reforms providing services for victims of domestic violence and for Aboriginal communities.

Brendan has worked in crime prevention and criminal justice for more than 19 years. He has written widely on crime prevention and Aboriginal justice issues.