The Australian Women's Register

Freda Slutzkin was the first woman admitted to the Bar in Palestine in 1930. Freda was born in Australia and studied law in Palestine.

Ms M Sowden was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1965.

Ms Sandra Spargo was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1974.

Ms Jeanette Sparks was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1975.

Jane Stapleton was appointed Distinguished Professor of Law at the Australian National University, Canberra, in 2016.

Eileen Stuart was admitted to the Victorian Bar (Bar roll no. 1403) in 1977.

Miss Tanner was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in the 1960s.

In 1923 Miss Mary Frances Tiernan, M.A., LL.B., University of Melbourne, who shared the Mollison Scholarship in Arabic with another student, was admitted to practice as barrister and solicitor, in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Enid Russell was the first female graduate of the University of Western Australia Law School in 1930. She was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1931 – becoming the first Western Australian woman admitted to legal practice in Western Australia. During World War 2 Russell joined the South African Women’s Army Service. She was also a part-time lecturer, University of Western Australia Law School between 1946-1951 and the author of
A History of the Law in Western Australia and Its Development From 1829 to 1979
(Perth: UWA Press, 1980).

Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs held the positions of President of the Australian Human Rights Commission (2012-2017) and, since 2012, Vice-President, Administrative Tribunal of the Asian Development Bank. Prior to taking up these appointments she served as dean and Challis Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney (2007 to 2012) and as director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (2005 to 2007).

Dr Sally Pitkin is a Company Director and Lawyer with thirty years’ corporate experience. Her current portfolio of board roles include ASX 200 companies, Federal Government owned business enterprises, private companies, regulatory bodies and non-profit organizations. Sally is the President of the Queensland Division of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Doctorate in the field of governance, and is an Adjunct Professor with the UQ Business School and a Fellow of Bond University. Her skills in corporate governance, risk management, strategy and business planning, organizational culture and stakeholder engagement have been developed from her legal background, eighteen years’ experience as a non-executive director and board member, and doctoral research.

In January 2021, Sally Pitkin was awarded an AO for distinguished service to business, to corporate governance standards and performance, to the arts, and to the advancement of women.

Kiki Politis was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1979.

Lindy Powell QC graduated with an LLB from the University of Adelaide and went on to work with Johnston Withers & Co as a Barrister and Solicitor later becoming a Partner. Between 1987-1991 she was the Director of the South Australian Legal Services Commission. She served as the first female President of the Law Society of South Australia between 1998-99 and in 1994 became a QC.

Phillipa Power was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1975.

Margaret Renaud was a Judge of the Family Court of Australia. She was granted Life Membership of the Women Lawyers’ Association of New South Wales. Margaret retired as a Family Court Judge in 1998. After an Arts degree, she was a university tutor. Margaret completed the Barristers Admission Board Course as a single mother and was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1974. She became a Crown Prosecutor before being appointed to the Bench of the Family Court in 1983. Following retirement she lectured in Practical Legal Training at Newcastle University and was a mediator with the Community Justice Centres.

Mary Risdale was admitted to practice as a legal practitioner in Melbourne on the 1st April, 1947. After many years as an employed solicitor and raising six children, Mary moved to Papua New Guinea in 1975.

There she spent six years with the Public Solicitor’s Office appearing for defendants in the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea. For four years she managed the Public Solicitor’s Office in Rabaul and travelled all over New Guinea on the Supreme Court Circuit.

In 1975, Mary was appointed as the first solicitor to the newly established Katherine Regional Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. In this capacity she appeared regularly in the Magistrates Court in Katherine and the Supreme Court in Darwin. Through her dedication and industry the service provided very comprehensive and competent legal representation for Aboriginal people living in Katherine and surrounding communities.

Mary moved to Alice Springs in 1989 to take up employment as a solicitor with Stone and Buckley, now known as Morgan Buckley. She continued in full time practice as a solicitor with this firm for 10 years.

In 1997 Mary was appointed as a member of the Liquor Commission, now the Racing, Gaming and Licensing Commission. She remained as a member of the Commission until 2002.

Ann Robinson was Chief Judge of the Youth Court of South Australia and was appointed a judge of the Family Court of Australia in 1998.

Jennifer Robinson is Director of Legal Advocacy for the Bertha Foundation, an organisation which supports emerging public interest lawyers around the world. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Law at the University of Sydney Law School. She is an expert in media and free speech law, having worked with clients such as Julian Assange, Richard Dawkins and the New York Times. She is also active in the West Papuan independence movement: she represents the leader in exile and is the co-founder of International Lawyers for West Papua. She graduated from the Australian National University with a double degree in Law and Asian Studies, where she was University Medallist in Law and Distinguished Scholar in Asian Studies. As a Rhodes Scholar, she completed a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and an MPhil in Public International Law.

Appointed Crown Prosecutor, DPP Victoria in January 2013. Dr Nanette Rogers S.C. has had extensive criminal experience in Sydney as a defence barrister and in the Northern Territory as a Crown Prosecutor.

Ms Aliki Rooney was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in the 1970s.

Excerpt from speaker biography published by the University of Technology Sydney:

Alexandra Rose is the Company Secretary of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Limited. Prior to this position, she was General Counsel and Company Secretary for the Benevolent Society, for which she won the Corporate Lawyer of the Year Award for 2013. She has served as director on a number of organisations including of The Law Society of NSW for six years, and chaired the Corporate Lawyers and Business Law Committees. She is a current director of Justice Connect and Women Lawyers Association of NSW. Alexandra is a Fellow of Chartered Secretaries Australia and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors… She holds a Bachelor of Laws from UTS.

Noreen Peachey was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in the 1960s.

Margot Rosenbaum was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1965.

Mahla Pearlman was the first woman to become chief judge of any jurisdiction within the state of New South Wales. At the time of her appointment to the NSW Land and Environment Court she stated: ‘I don’t think of myself as a woman lawyer. I think of myself as a lawyer. Then I get on with it! I suppose my appointment is good for me and good for women. I hope it’s good for the legal profession and good for solicitors.’

Julia Rowlands was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1962.

Rayna Pettet was a solicitor with the Aboriginal Legal Service in New South Wales, based in Cowra, for thirty-three years. When she started working with the Legal Service in the 1970s she was the only woman on staff.

Victoria Rubensohn is the current Convenor of the Classification Review Board and since 1991 has been Principal of international communications consultancy Omni Media, which specialises in communications regulatory policy. She is a consumer representative member of the Mobile Premium Services Code Review Panel and is a member of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Standing Advisory Committee. Victoria has been a Member of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and a Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal. She is a former President of the Communications and Media Law Association and has also been a member of the Copyright Law Review Committee. Victoria holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sydney), Master of Arts [in Government] (Sydney), Bachelor of Laws (UNSW) and Master of Human Rights (Sydney).