Council Members

The Attorney-General appoints members to the council on the basis of their individual expertise and not on the basis of their membership of any organisation. Members come from around Australia and bring to the council a broad range of experience in the area of dispute resolution. Members are available to give speeches in each State and Territory. Invitations can be sent to the NADRAC Secretariat.

The Hon Justice Murray Kellam AO (Chair)

The Hon Justice Murray Kellam AO is a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria. He was formerly a Justice of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria, President of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration and President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Justice Kellam has been a strong supporter of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) within the court and tribunal system and led the development of a broad-ranging and innovative ADR program within VCAT. He has undertaken mediation training at Harvard University and has been involved in the delivery of mediation training to the judiciary in Papua-New Guinea and a number of Pacific Island Countries.

Professor Nadja Alexander

Professor Nadja Alexander is a Professor of Dispute Resolution at the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland and an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University. Winner of numerous teaching awards, Professor Alexander has widespread experience as a trainer, facilitator and dispute resolution consultant internationally. She has published extensively on negotiation and mediation and is on the editorial boards of prestigious ADR journals in Australia, USA, Germany and Austria. She is a member of the Standards Commission of the International Mediation Institute.

Mr Fabian Dixon SC

Mr Fabian Dixon SC is a barrister in Victoria and Tasmania. He has an extensive background in family law. Mr Dixon is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Australian Advocacy Institute. He was a member of the Family Law Council from 1998-2001, and was a member of a joint NADRAC/Family Law Council Committee which provided advice to the Government on Parenting Plans. He was President of the Law Council of Australia in 1998-99 and President of the Law Society of Tasmania in 1992-93. Mr Dixon was appointed Senior Counsel in 2003.

Mr Ian Govey

Mr Ian Govey is Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice and Legal Services, Australian Government Attorney-General's Department. His relevant areas of responsibility within the Department include courts and tribunals, alternative dispute resolution, family law and related services, legal assistance, native title, indigenous law and justice and Commonwealth legal services. Mr Govey has been appointed as an ex officio member of the council.

Ms Margaret Halsmith

Ms Margaret Halsmith is Director and Principal Mediator of Halsmith Consulting Pty Limited. She holds Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Arts and is a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. Ms Halsmith is an accredited mediator under the Supreme Court Rules (WA) and the National Mediator Accreditation System. She taught Dispute Resolution at Edith Cowan University and University of Western Australia. Ms Halsmith is the Chair of LEADR. She is also a member of the Western Australian Dispute Resolution Association under the auspices of which she convened the sub committee responsible for the National Mediator Accreditation System. She was Co-convenor of the National Mediation Conference held in Perth in 2008.

Mr Ian Hanger AM QC

Mr Ian Hanger AM QC is a leading commercial dispute resolution practitioner in Brisbane. He is an accredited ADR specialist with the Bar Association of Queensland and is an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland. Mr Hanger is a Fellow of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia and former Director and Queensland Chair of LEADR. He is a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a member of the panel of conciliators for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and member of the Law Council of Australia's ADR subcommittee.  He has recently been appointed to the arbitration panel of the Chinese International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. Mr Hanger was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1984 and Member in the Order of Australia in 2007.

Mr Greg Hansen

Mr Greg Hansen has practiced as a commercial and personal mediator and has extensive negotiation experience. He was a partner of the Newcastle law firm, Torpey and Hansen, for 12 years. Since retiring from active legal practice, Mr Hansen has been involved in business as a retailer, grazier, vigneron, restaurateur and business consultant. He has been active in community affairs, including as an Alderman and Councillor with Newcastle City Council.

Norah Hartnett

Federal Magistrate Norah Hartnett was formerly a barrister specialising in family law and a solicitor working in company, insurance and family law. She was formerly a member of the Victorian Bar Ethics Committee and member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. She is currently a member of the Family Law Council. Trained in mediation, Federal Magistrate Hartnett has extensive expertise in the use of ADR within the court system.

Mr John Hodgins

Mr John Hodgins is a magistrate based in Cairns. Prior to his appointment as a magistrate, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Legal Aid Queensland. He was formerly a member of the Steering Committee Reviewing Aboriginal Legal Services, a member of the Family Law Council and a member of the Council of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration.

Mr Tom Howe QC

Mr Tom Howe QC is the Chief Counsel, Litigation at the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), where he has worked for the last 22 years. Prior to joining AGS, he worked in private practice and as a solicitor with ACT Legal Aid. He is a member of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association, the Federal Litigation Section of the Law Council, and the ACT Bar Association.

Mr Stephen Lancken

Mr Stephen Lancken is the Australian Principal of the Trillium Group. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in Conflict Management at the University of New South Wales. Mr Lancken is a member of the New South Wales Law Society's Dispute Resolution Committee. He is an accredited mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System and an accredited mediation specialist with the Law Society of New South Wales.

Dr Gaye Sculthorpe

Dr Gaye Sculthorpe is a full time member of the National Native Title Tribunal and mediates native title applications in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. She is a member of the Tribunal's Agreement-Making Strategy Group which produced a guide on mediating native title applications. She is a member of the Australian Heritage Council and has held senior positions at Museum Victoria. Dr Sculthorpe has qualifications in anthropology and history and holds a PhD from La Trobe University in Melbourne. She is a descendent of the Pyemmairrener people of north-east Tasmania.

Ms Lindsay Smith

Ms Lindsay Smith is the Acting Executive Manager for the Dispute Resolution Branch of the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. She was formerly the Coordinator of the Dispute Resolution Branch's Mackay Dispute Resolution Centre. Ms Smith is an accredited mediator with the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. She is a former conflict resolution consultant at FH Collins Secondary School in Canada and is a former Deputy Principal of Mackay State High School.

Mr Warwick Soden

Mr Warwick Soden is Registrar and CEO of the Federal Court of Australia. Mr Soden has extensive experience in relation to ADR in the justice system. He is a member of the Federal Court ADR Committee and the Practice and Procedure Committee in matters concerning ADR. In particular, Mr Soden has played a major role in relation to ADR programs and initiatives in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of NSW.

Professor Tania Sourdin

Professor Tania Sourdin is Professor of Law and Dispute Resolution and Director of Conflict Resolution and Practice, Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Queensland. From 2002-2007, she was Professor of Law and Dispute Resolution and Director, Conflict Resolution Research Centre at La Trobe University. Professor Sourdin is a part-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and completed a term as a senior member with the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal in February 2008. She has extensive experience in mediation studies both in Australia and overseas and is a highly qualified ADR trainer. She has conducted research and independent reviews of a range of ADR and litigation schemes. Professor Sourdin has published extensively on ADR and is author of Alternative Dispute Resolution (second edition, 2005).