Catherine has dedicated over 30 years to serving the community. For close to two decades, she has worked at the Welfare Rights & Advocacy Service (WRAS) and currently holds the position of Principal Solicitor.

In her role, Catherine assists clients with their Centrelink and tenancy issues on a daily basis. The clients she assists are frequently in circumstances of financial hardship, ill health and vulnerability. During the ‘Robodebt’ scheme, Catherine worked tirelessly to assist clients to appeal their debts, and to draw attention to the problems with the automated debt system.

Catherine’s commitment to consumers extends far beyond her work with clients. She has been a generous and valued mentor and educator; provides regular legal outreach to regional and remote areas of WA, including in Fitzroy Crossing to those impacted by the Kimberley floods; and works with government agencies to improve legislative, administrative, service delivery and policy measures.

Catherine has also made an invaluable contribution to the Community Legal Centre sector in WA and in Australia, as a whole. Catherine is the Convenor of the WA CLC’s Legal Practice and PII Committee and Chair and Convenor of the Community Legal Centres Australia Professional Indemnity Insurance (LP&PII) Network. She has undertaken these roles in a voluntary capacity for seventeen years and provides support to CLC solicitors and the sector across the country.
 

For over 30 years, Christian has championed the rights of consumers, from his early career in community law and legal aid, through to reforming lending laws while working at Treasury, to his nearly two decades at ASIC.

While at ASIC, Christian has been instrumental in ensuring insurers actively address the risk of underinsurance; helped protect First Nations Australians from poor bank lending practices; secured over $100 million in remediation for Australians harmed by systemic unfair loans sold with loans; and protected consumers from unfair lending practices targeted at consumers least able to negotiate to protect their interests. The high interest rates consumers faced through the unfair lending practices addressed by Christian, created a cycle of disadvantage and typically worsened their financial position.

Mr Brody has worked as a lawyer, policy officer and consumer advocate for 20 years. He was recently the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, an independent, not-for-profit consumer organisation based in Melbourne. Consumer Action provides financial counselling, legal advice and representation to support vulnerable and disadvantaged Victorians, and draws on its direct knowledge of the consumer experience in the marketplace to pursue consumer interest campaigns and policy reform at both state and national levels.

He has been on the board of the Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria since 2014, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman since 2022, and Community Legal Centres Australia, the peak body for community legal centres, since 2021. In addition, he is the Chair of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia. 

Ms Rickard has been a Deputy Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission since 2012. She sits on the ACCC’s competition exemptions, communications, consumer data right, enforcement and compliance and product safety committees. She is also an Associate Member of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Ms Rickard’s work in consumer protection started in 1990 when she was an adviser to the Minister for Justice & Consumer Affairs Senator the Hon Michael Tate. From 1992 to 1993 she served as Chief of Staff to Consumer Affairs Minister, the Hon Jeanette McHugh, before being appointed as a Senior Executive, in charge of the Consumer Protection Branch, at the Trade Practices Commission.

In 2000, Ms Rickard was appointed as a Senior Executive at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), where she was responsible for consumer issues in banking, financial literacy and capability.

From early in her career, Ms Rickard had a strong interest in financial services and in particular the impact of the financial services industry on vulnerable and disadvantaged consumers. Outside of work, she is a trustee of the Jan Pentland Foundation, an organisation dedicated to providing scholarships for those who want to work as financial counsellors and Chair of Good Shepherd’s Advisory Committee on Financial Inclusion Action Plans.

In 2011, Ms Rickard was awarded the Public Service Medal in 2011 for her contribution to consumer protection and financial services. She has also been awarded the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals Lifetime Achievement Award.