VRB Members' Biographies
Principal Member of the Veterans' Review Board
Mr Doug Humphreys
Doug Humphreys was appointed as Principal Member of the Board on 22 March 2010. He graduated from UNSW in 1980 with a combined Commerce/Law degree in 1980. Following his admission as a solicitor, he spent 3 years in private legal practice. Between 1984 and 2003, he worked for the Legal Aid Commission of NSW in the criminal law area. Between 1993 and 2003, he was the Director of the Commission's criminal law branch.
In 2003, he was appointed as the Principal Registrar of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). During his time with the AAT he completed a Master of Laws course at Monash University majoring in tribunal procedures. From 2003 to 2009, he was Secretary and then Executive Officer of the Council of Australasian Tribunals. In 2008, he was elected as a Councillor of the Law Society of NSW. He was the Chair of the Society's Licensing and Government Solicitors' Committees, a member of the Professional Conduct Committee, and for 2 years as the Chair of the Specialist Accreditation Board.
Mr Humphreys joined the Australian Army Reserve in 1976, and was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Australian Infantry in 1979. He remains an active member of the Reserve.
Ms Zita Antonios
Ms Antonios is a graduate in Social Studies. She is a current part time Member of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and a former full time Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal. Prior to that she was the Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner and Social Justice Commissioner at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Ms Antonios has an extensive employment history as a mediator and advisor in grievance management and conflict resolution. She was appointed a Member of the VRB in 2001.
Commander Gary Barrow
Commander Barrow served as a permanent officer in the Royal Australian Navy for 26 years. In 1983 he graduated from the University of Sydney Law School, and also qualified as a Legal Officer in the Royal Australian Navy. He has been in private practice as a solicitor since 1986 and has continued to serve as a Naval Reserve Officer. He was appointed a Member of the VRB in 2007 and a Senior Member of the VRB in 2011.
Group Captain Dr Robert Black AM RFD
Group Captain Black is a Doctor of Medicine and has a Master of Surgery. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve for 46 years including duty in Butterworth, Rwanda, Bougainville and East Timor. He was the Senior Visiting Specialist of the Daw Park Repatriation General Hospital for 23 years and has conducted a self employed private surgical practice. He was appointed a Services Member of the VRB in 2006.
Ms Moira Brophy
Ms Brophy is currently a part time Legal Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and a part time Member of the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. Ms Brophy has previously been a Member of the Fair Trading Tribunal and the NSW Medical Tribunal and has been a community representative on various government boards and advisory bodies.
Air Commodore Frank Burtt OBE (Retd)
Air Commodore Burtt (Retd) served in the Royal Australian Air Force for 33 years including operational service in Malaya and Vietnam. He is a graduate of both the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College and the Joint Services Staff College. He retired in the rank of Air Commodore and was appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1983. He was appointed a Services Member of the VRB in 1998.
Mr Patrick Callioni
Patrick Callioni is a former senior public servant with the Australian and Queensland governments, having retired in 2008 as a Senior Executive Band 2 in the Department of Finance. Mr Callioni runs his own consulting company and is a senior executive with two other companies. Mr Callioni has degrees in Arts and Law, has studied European law at post-graduate level and is a barrister. Mr Callioni ran the advocacy branch in the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, where he held senior executive positions in the 1980s and 1990s. Mr Callioni is a published author, specialising in regulation, public policy, knowledge management and the financial services sector. He is also an experienced trainer, facilitator and presenter, and a member of several professional organisations.
Mr Scott Clark
Mr Clark is a Psychologist who has worked in the area of mental health service delivery in both inpatient and community settings since 1998. He is currently a Team Leader for a specialist Mental Health Service. Mr Clark joined the Army Reserve in 1990, transferring to the Australian Army Psychology Corps in 1997, where he continues to serve as a Psychologist.
Ms Alison Colvin
Ms Colvin holds Bachelor degrees in Arts and Laws (with honours) from the University of Queensland and a Masters in Law from Queensland University of Technology. She has practised as a solicitor in private practice and was a Conference Registrar at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. She has previously held appointments as a part time Legal Member of the Queensland Mental Health Review Tribunal and as a part time Commissioner with the Queensland Law Reform Commission.
Ms Jennifer D’Arcy
Ms D’Arcy has been a part time Senior Member of the Board since 2001 and is also a part time Legal Member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, as well as being a part time Presiding Member of the Guardianship Tribunal.
Ms Jackie Fristacky
Ms Fristacky has a Master of Public Policy, Master of Public Policy and Management and Master of Laws degrees. She has been a Senior Member of the WorkCare Appeals Board, an industrial advocate for the Australian Public Service Board and held senior roles in the Victorian Public Service and in industrial relations and management consulting. She was appointed as a Member of the VRB in 1997. Since 2002, she has held this role concurrently with her role as a municipal councillor of the City of Yarra where she was Mayor in 2006. Ms Fristacky was appointed a Senior Member of the VRB in 2011.
Dr Rhonda Galbally AO
For over thirty years, Dr Rhonda Galbally has been developing effective solutions for social, health and economic development. A CEO for twenty seven years in business, public sector, philanthropy and community, Rhonda has led the creation and development of a number of cutting edge organisations including the Myer Foundation and the Sidney Myer Fund, the Australian Commission for the Future, VicHealth – the first organisation in the world to use a dedicated tobacco tax for health promotion. In this role Rhonda developed six centres of research excellence and ensured that they became sustainable. In the late nineties Rhonda established the Australian International Health organisation – now the Nossal Institute at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine. During this time as independent Chair Rhonda undertook the National Competition Policy Review of Drugs, Poisons, and Controlled Substances Legislation (2000). Rhonda is co-founder and from 2000-2009 was Chief Executive of Our Community Pty Ltd. Rhonda is Patron of Compassionate Friends and the Epilepsy Foundation. She is Chair of the Royal Women’s Hospital, Chair of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, Chair of the National People with Disability and Carers Advisory Council and Chair of the International Board of Evaluation for Thai Health. Rhonda was recognised with an Order of Australia in 1990, and two Doctorates (Honoris Causa) from Latrobe University (1998) and Royal Melbourne University of Technology (2007).
Commodore Simon J Hart CSC RAN (Retd)
Simon Hart served in the ADF for 33 years from 1973 until transferring to the Naval Reserve in 2006. Simon’s operational background is primarily in guided missile Frigates and Destroyers with extensive Command experience in Destroyers. His two key positions in the Navy Senior Leadership Group were Director General, Navy Personnel and Training Organisation; and Commander, Australian Surface Combatant Force Element Group. He is a graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College; University of NSW; US Navy Postgraduate School (Computer Science); and Kings College, London (International Relations). He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Simon was appointed to the VRB as a Services Member in 2011.
Mrs Jan Hartmann
Jan Hartmann served in the Australian Army for 22 years, retiring with the rank of Major. She is a former Veterans’ Advocate for the RSL (NSW Branch) and assessor for Veterans’ Home Care program. She was appointed a Member of the VRB in 2001 and a Services Member of the VRB in 2011.
Lieutenant Colonel Geoff Hourn
Lieutenant Colonel Hourn is a 1987 graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College and served in the Australian Intelligence Corps for 20 years before appointment to the Commonwealth Senior Executive Service. He was a Member of the VRB from 1997 to 2004 and more recently served with the United Nations in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Colonel Hourn was reappointed to the VRB in January 2011.
Major Edward Bertram Mark Jolly
Major Jolly has a Masters in Law from Melbourne University, and is currently a barrister in private practice. He served as a Legal Officer in the Australian Regular Army from 1993-1998 and continues to serve in the Army Reserve. He was appointed a Senior Member of the VRB in 2007.
Ms Hilary Kramer
Ms Kramer is a graduate in Arts and Law. She is a part time Member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal and a former part time Legal Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW. She has practised as a solicitor in private practice and for the Legal Aid Commission representing clients in criminal, prison and mental health law. She has conducted research with the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and compiled the final report of the 26-member Women in Prison Task Force to the Minister for Corrective Services. She was appointed Member of the VRB in 1998 and Senior Member in 2006.
Mr Wayne Lynch
Wayne joined the Army in 1971 and served for 38 years. He is presently a Colonel on the Standby Reserve and has been since Jan 2009. In his career he has served in the regular Army component and as a Reservist in both the Ready Reserve and the General Reserve. He started as a rifleman in Infantry and had a wide range of appointments, including Company Commander 3RAR and 6 RAR, CO RURQ, CO QUR, and Commandant of LWC SQ. He has been employed with DVA since 1994 in the Rehabilitation and Compensation business. He retired from DVA in March 2013 and was later appointed as a Member of the VRB located in Brisbane.
Colonel Peter Maher
Colonel Maher graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1973. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Military Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Management Studies, and he is a 1984 graduate of the Command and Staff College, Queenscliff. Colonel Maher has overseas service with the United Nations in Kashmir, the British Army in Germany and the United States Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia. He was the Deputy Chief of Operations, HQ Multi-National Security Transition Command in Baghdad, Iraq in 2006. He completed his Army full-time service in 2007 as the Commander, Land Warfare Centre, Canungra. Colonel Maher was appointed to the VRB in March 2013.
Lieutenant Colonel Rick Main (Retd)
Lieutenant Colonel Main served for 23 years in the Australian Army including operational service in Vietnam. He graduated from the Army Staff College Queenscliff and the Officer Training Unit Scheyville. His service also included instructional postings at the Royal Military College Duntroon and as an exchange officer at the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Following eight years as an advocate with the RSL Queensland State Branch he was appointed as a Services Member of the VRB in 2006.
Major Gregory Mawkes MBE (Retd)
Major Mawkes (Retd) served in the Regular Army for 22½ years including two tours of Vietnam with 1 SAS Squadron. He was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to SAS in the 1982 New Year’s Honours list, specifically for establishing Australia’s military counter-terrorist capability. He was appointed Services Member of the VRB in 1993.
Ms Morag McColm
Ms McColm is a graduate in Social Studies and Adult Education. She is a former Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and was a member of the Legal Aid panel of chair people, Brisbane. She has an extensive history of employment in a wide range of medical, mental health and family work areas. She was appointed Member of the VRB in 1997.
Ms Jillian Moir
Ms Moir graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University. After completing a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the College of Law, she was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW in 1993. She is currently completing the course requirements for a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) at Wollongong University. Ms Moir worked for ten years for the NSW Anti Discrimination Board, ultimately as the Manager of the Complaint Resolution team, which was responsible for investigating and conciliating all complaints made to the Board. She currently works as a part time Legal Member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, part time Legal Member of the NSW Guardianship Tribunal and as a Member of the NSW Housing Appeals Committee. She is also a specialist mediator/conciliator for the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal, the NSW Department of Fair Trading, Strata Mediation Panel, the Health Conciliation Registry and is an accredited Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
Colonel Robin Regan CSC (Retd)
Colonel Regan (Retd) served in the Australian Army for 34 years including active service in South Vietnam. He was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross and Deputy Chief of Army Commendation. He has previously been an advocate for the RSL of Victoria. Colonel Regan (Retd) was appointed a Services Member of the VRB in 1999.
Colonel Roger Tiller AM CSC (Retd)
Roger Tiller was appointed to the VRB as a part time services Member in 2006. Conscripted in 1972 he was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and served in the Australian Regular Army for 33 years. He commanded ADF's Parachute Battalion Group as the Commanding Officer of 3 RAR and was the Commander of the Liverpool Military Area during the period coinciding with the initial deployments into East Timor, the operation in support of Kosovo refugees and the Sydney Olympics. Colonel Tiller has served as a military observer with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in the Middle East. His last appointment from 2002 to 2005 was as the first Australian Defence Attaché in the Gulf - based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was cross accredited to Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman (and initially Qatar and the UAE) and spent time with ADF elements in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iraq. Colonel Tiller was appointed a Member of Order of Australia (AM) in 1999 and awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) in 2005. He now has a one-man consulting company facilitating opportunities between Australian industry and business entities including governments of the Gulf region.
Ms Sylvia Winters
Ms Winters has been a Member of the Board since 2006, and was appointed a Senior Member in 2008. She previously served as an officer in the Australian Army and was a barrister at the New South Wales Bar.
Air Commodore Bruce Wood (Retd)
Air Commodore Wood (Retd) served in the Royal Australian Air Force for 35 years which included a posting in Ubon, Thailand during the Vietnam War flying Sabre aircraft, and later a tour in South Vietnam as a Forward Air Controller working with the US Army 25th Infantry Division. Towards the latter part of his Air Force career he was the Air Attaché in Washington DC and his last posting before retirement was as Combined Air Component Commander INTERFET and Commander of the Australian Contingent, in East Timor. He is still a member of the RAAF Reserve Staff Group and was appointed a Services Member of the VRB in 2006.
Mr Christopher Wray
Mr Wray is a graduate in Law with a post graduate diploma in Art History. He is a self-employed solicitor and has an extensive history of employment as a senior associate, partner and sole principal in law firms in Melbourne and Perth. He has lectured in legal studies and has authored publications relating to Australian Military History.
Colonel Leslie Young (Retd)
Colonel Young (Retd) has a Diploma in Law and a Diploma in Criminology. He served in the Australian Army for 22 years holding appointments as Judge Advocate Administrator, Judge Advocate, Defence Force Magistrate and Chief Legal Officer. In his capacity as a Judge Advocate he sat on military trials in Somalia and Cambodia. Prior to his appointment as a Senior Member of the VRB in 1997 he worked as a solicitor advocate which he continues to do on a part time basis as a sole practitioner.
Lieutenant Colonel Warwick Young
Lieutenant Colonel Young is an Army Officer in the Australian Defence Force and has been since 1992. Lieutenant Colonel Young saw active service in Iraq in 2006. He was appointed Services Member of the VRB in 2008.
Commander Iain Alexander Whitehouse (Retd)
Commander Whitehouse (Retd) served for 27 years in the Royal Australian Navy until transferring in 1998 to the Maritime Safety Queensland as Manager of Maritime Safety (Gold Coast). Iain’s sea going appointments include a variety of ships operating in global waters. His operational background is primarily in patrol boats and guided missile destroyers, with command experience of a PNG Patrol Boat based at Manus Island. In 2007 Iain established a maritime consultancy business on the Gold Coast and is involved in advising ship operators on safe material and operational standards. Iain was appointed to the VRB as a services Member in 2011.
Captain Jay Bruce (Retd)
Captain Jay Bruce (Retd) served in the Australian Army for 18 years and holds a Bachelor Degree in Health Science. Jay is a member of the Australian Special Air Service Association and Australian Peacekeepers & Peacemakers Veteran's Association. On entering the private sector Jay obtained experience in the oil and gas industry eventually setting up his own consultancy, working in Australia and internationally. Jay was appointed to the VRB as a services Member in 2011.
Brigadier Christopher Hamilton
Brigadier Hamilton has over 32 years of service in the Australian Army and is currently a serving member of the Army Reserve. He held command appointments at every rank including battalion command and command of units on operations overseas in Bougainville and East Timor. He holds a Bachelors degree in Applied Science and a Masters degree in both Human resource Management and Marketing. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Employment Services Queensland. Chris is also the honorary Aide de Camp to the Governor General. Chris was appointed to the VRB as a Services Member in 2011.
Frank Brown, LLB
A former national serviceman, later promoted sergeant and then commissioned from OCS Portsea in 1971. Army service included Vietnam in 1968/69 and an exchange posting with the British Army in Germany 1976-1978. He left the Army in 1993 as a lieutenant colonel, following which he worked for the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. After graduating in law from the University of New South Wales in 1997, Frank worked as a solicitor in private practice. Frank was appointed to the Board in 2001 and 2011.
Mrs Jennifer Walker
Jennifer served 16 years in the Australian Intelligence Corps (Army Reserve) attaining the rank of Major. She holds a Bachelor of Business and a Diploma of Market Research and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Jennifer had a varied career in technical, management and organisational development roles, spanning over 20 years, in the private and public sectors, working at all levels of government and in a number of jurisdictions. Since 1996 she has had extensive experience in consulting including the conduct of organization reviews and grievance investigations. She is currently the Director of Walker Consulting. Jennifer was appointed to the VRB in March 2013.
Major Jonathan James Hyde
Major Hyde holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law from the University of Adelaide and a Masters in Law from the University of Melbourne. He has acted as counsel on numerous military inquiries including the HMAS Success inquiry and was deployed to Iraq in 2006 as part of Operation Catalyst. He continues to serve in the Army Reserve and is currently a Barrister at 9th Floor Wentworth Chambers, Sydney. He was appointed a member of the VRB in March 2013.
Lieutenant Colonel David Collins
Lieutenant Colonel David Collins has served in the Australian Army and Army Reserve for over 30 years. He holds a Bachelor of Education and Training, Diploma of Law and a Masters of Management and Governance. In 2005 he was posted to Iraq, as the Officer in command of the 2nd rotation of the ADF Medical Detachment attached to the US Theatre Hospital Balad, where he also held the position of Deputy Nurse Commander. He is currently employed by the Childrens Hospital Melbourne as the Hospital Nursing Manager. He was appointed a VRB Services member in March 2013.
Ms Deborah Morgan
Ms Deborah Morgan holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Adelaide and has extensive experience in Australian administrative law. She has previously been a member of the Refugee Review Tribunal and the Migration Review Tribunal and has recently worked as an immigration lawyer in private practice.Deborah was appointed to the VRB as a member in March 2013.