Portrait of Craig Smith, Chair of Board

Craig Smith

Dip Law (BAB), Dip Crim (SYD).

Chair

Attended five of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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 solicitor and 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

BSW, Dip Law.

Chief Executive Officer

Attended six of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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.

Portrait of Peggy Dwyer, Board Member

Peggy Dwyer

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

Board member

Attended two of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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, specialising in criminal law and, later, coronial law. She previously worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in the Northern Territory and the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office. As a barrister, Dr Dwyer appears in a wide range of criminal matters, including jury trials, appeals, Children’s Court of NSW matters and State Parole Authority hearings. She has a busy practice in coronial proceedings and a significant interest in medical disciplinary law.

She appeared as Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into the Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse and as Counsel for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.

Dr Dwyer was an Associate to Justice Michael Kirby in the High Court of Australia between 1995 and 1996.

Portrait of Ainslie van Onselen, Board Member

Ainslie van Onselen

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

Board member

Attended two of six meetings.

Ainslie van Onselen was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of consumer and community interests. Ms van Onselen has been reappointed until 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, including Managing Director of RAMS Home Loans and running its retail deposits portfolio. Ms van Onselen has been the Chief Executive Officer of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) since May 2020.

Ms van Onselen is passionate about social justice, inclusion and diversity. She is the former Global Director of Women’s Markets, Inclusion and Diversity for Westpac and currently serves as Chair of Kambala Girls School and is Chair (elect) of Chartered Accountants Worldwide. She is a non-executive director of Global Accounting Alliance, Chartered Accountants Worldwide and share registry company Automic. She is also the 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.

Portrait of Michael Coleman, Board Member

Michael Coleman

MComm, B Comm, FAICD, FCA, FCPA.

Board member

Attended six of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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 is 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 Leigh Henry

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

Board member

Attended six of six meetings.

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 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 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. Dr Henry’s current unpaid roles include Director of the Children’s Cancer Institute, Chairman of Trustees of Sydney Grammar School 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.

Portrait of Sue Gilchrist, Board Member

Sue Gilchrist

LLM, BA LLB (Hons).

Board member

Attended four of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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 intellectual property disputes partner at Herbert Smith Freehills. She is experienced in all intellectual property areas, 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, and in particular, patent litigation.

Ms Gilchrist has strong management experience, having been the Regional Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills for Asia and Australia until 2017. She is a member of the Global Council for Herbert Smith Freehills, and is also Chair of her firm’s global governance body for Pro Bono and Responsible Business. Ms Gilchrist is Co-Chair of the firm’s Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Committee and is proud to have helped the firm reach the elevate level for its Reconciliation Action Plan, as endorsed by Reconciliation Australia. She is also a member of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee of the Art Gallery of NSW.

Portrait of Anna Cody, Board Member

Anna Cody

LLM (Harvard), GDip LP (UTS), LLB (UNSW), BA (UNSW).

Board member

Attended six of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

Anna Cody was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of bodies providing community legal services. Professor Cody has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

Professor Cody is Dean of the Western Sydney University School of Law, providing legal education to students from a range of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are sometimes the first in their families to attend university. She was previously Director of the Kingsford Legal Centre, which specialises in discrimination and employment law. The centre is part of the University of New South Wales Law Faculty. She worked at the centre for more than two decades, leading it for 15 years. During this time the centre tripled in size and gained increased expertise in employment law and health justice partnerships.

Professor Cody was the winner of the 2016 Human Rights Commission Law Award and in 2007 was named community lawyer of the year at the NSW Women Lawyers Achievement Awards. From 2011 to 2013, she was the Chair of Community Legal Centres NSW and was a member of the Board of LawAccess NSW. She was also the Deputy Chair of the NSW Legal Assistance Forum. She is currently a member of the Board of the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

Portrait of Alison McRobert, Board member

Alison McRobert

BA LLB (Wollongong University).

Board member

Attended four of six meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

Alison McRobert was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of Unions NSW and has been reappointed until 26 September 2025.

Ms McRobert is currently the legal counsel and manager of legal services at the Public Service Association of NSW. She has specialised in employment and industrial law in the NSW public sector for over 20 years and previously worked at several employment law firms including McNally Jones Staff and Haywards Solicitors. Ms McRobert previously served as a Director at Federation Law Pty Ltd from 2013 to 2016. In November 2020 Ms McRobert was appointed as an advisory member of the Rule Committee of the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.

Portrait of Brett McGrath, Board member

Brett McGrath

LLB (Western Sydney University), GDip LP (Western Sydney University).

Board member

Attended zero of one meeting.

Brett McGrath was appointed by the NSW Attorney General as a representative of the Law Society of NSW for the period 2 September 2019 to 2 September 2022.

Mr McGrath is a Senior Judicial Registrar with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

He began his career in private practice in 2012 at Marsdens Law Group in south-western Sydney, where he also served as the Regional President for the Macarthur Law Society from 2014 to 2018, before joining the national firm Gadens to practise exclusively in family law.

In 2017 he sat on the NSW Business Chamber State Council and held various board positions at both the Camden and Narellan Business Chambers, as well as United Way Australia, which focuses primarily on supporting early childhood literacy in disadvantaged communities.

Elected to the Council of the Law Society of NSW in 2018, Mr McGrath is the Treasurer and Chair of their Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. He also sits on various committees including the Family Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and the Fidelity Fund Committee. He is currently a sessional lecturer at Western Sydney University.

Portrait of Jacqueline Dawson, Board member

Jacqueline Dawson

MA, LLB (University of Sydney), GAICD.

Board member

Attended four of five meetings and an additional ad-hoc meeting.

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, Deputy Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee and a member of the Audit Risk and Finance Committee.

She also serves as a committee member of each of the Sydney University Law Extension Committee and the Legal Qualifications Committee of the Legal Profession Admission Board.