I've been on the other side of this.
I've spent over fifteen years in family law practice - as a lawyer, a mediator, an academic. The last five and a half were at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, first as a Judicial Registrar, then as Senior Judicial Registrar.
I saw what happens when families can't resolve things themselves. I saw the cost - financial, yes, but also the emotional cost. Relational. The toll on children caught in the middle of decisions that should have been by their parents, not a Judge.
Most families who ended up appearing before me didn't need to be there. They needed a different kind of conversation - earlier, calmer, with someone who could help them see a way through.
That's what I do now.
Skills and Experience
The Early Years
I started as a family lawyer in Toowoomba. Representing clients through separation, parenting disputes, property settlements, domestic and family violence litigation and care and protection litigation. I understand the sense of urgency people feel after separation.
Mediation & Teaching
I moved into academia, teaching a variety of legal subjects - first at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), then at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Training the next generation of lawyers. Thinking deeply about the work we do. I completed my Master of Laws (QUT) and my Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution. I then became Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with Relationships Australia where I helped people, just like you, navigate life after separation or life with on-going conflict.
The Court
In August 2020, I was appointed to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Over almost six years, I had various roles, including Judicial Registrar, Director - Indigenous Family Liaison Officers Practice and Support, and then was appointed to Senior Judicial Registrar in April 2024. I case managed a docket of over 250 matters and conducted over 400 mediations. I have training in trauma informed practice and domestic and family violence.
I served on the Reconciliation Action Plan Committee from October 2020 to May 2025 and on the Access to Justice Committee from March 2022 to March 2024.
Pursuing my passion for mediation, I co-facilitated training for the national Registrar cohort in mediation skills and practice. I was widely regarded within the Court as one of the most experienced and skilled registrars conducting mediation.
Private Practice
Now I bring all of it together - the knowledge of the application of the law, the years of mediation experience, the court perspective and empathy - directly to families and their lawyers. No matter the type of conflict, the complexity, the dynamics or the circumstances - I can provide a process that is balanced, respectful and resolution-focused.
Credentials & Qualifications
Qualifications
- Master of Laws (QUT)
- Graduate Diploma of Family Dispute Resolution (QUT)
- Graduate Diploma of Legal Practise (College of Law)
- Bachelor of Laws (UNE)
- Bachelor of Arts (Political Science and Sociology) (UNE)
Accreditations and Credentials
- Advanced Accredited Mediator (AMDRAS)
- Advanced Accredited Mediator (Resolution Institute)
- Nationally Accredited Mediator (AMDRAS)
- Accredited Ally (Evolve Communities)
- Accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP)
- (Partial) Elder Mediation Accreditation (EMIN)
- Admitted as a Solicitor - High Court of Australia (December 2006)
- Admitted as a Solicitor - Supreme Court of Queensland (November 2026)
Professional Memberships
- Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM)
- Resolution Institute (RI)
- Queensland Law Society (QLS)
- Family Law Pathways Network (FLPN)
- Family Law Practitioners Association (FLPA)
- Therapeutic Family Law Professionals (TFLP)
- Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia
- Member Queensland Law Society (QLS)
- Elder Mediation Australasian Network (EMAN)
- Elder Mediation International Network (EMIN)
