Commissioners
The Honourable Neville Owen (AO) - Chair
The Honourable Neville Owen (AO) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia from 1991 to 2010. He was an inaugural member of the Court of Appeal Division (CoA), becoming the CoA’s senior judge. Commissioner Owen was a barrister and solicitor from 1972 to 1990, and a partner at Robinson Cox (now Clayton Utz), with expertise in corporate structures, commercial litigation, corporate insolvency and business ethics and media law.
In 2001, he was appointed as a Royal Commissioner to inquire into the failure of the HIH Insurance Group. In 2003, he was the trial judge in the Bell Group litigation, one of Australia’s longest running and most expensive civil actions.
Commissioner Owen was associated with the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) in governance and teaching roles almost from its inception and served as Chancellor. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the law schools of the University of Western Australia and UNDA.
From 2014 to 2018, he was Chair of the Truth Justice and Healing Commission and was appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in February 2018. He was appointed as a trustee of the St John of God Health Care group in January 2020.
In 2019, Justice Owen was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the law, to the judiciary, to legal education and to the community of Western Australia.
The Honourable Lindy Jenkins
The Honourable Carolyn Frances (Lindy) Jenkins was a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia from 2004 - 2020.
From 1989-2001, she worked at the Western Australian Crown Solicitors office, becoming Deputy Crown Counsel. She was a member of the Model Criminal Code Committee from 1999-2001, with the Committee’s work forming the basis for what is now the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
Commissioner Jenkins graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University in 1981 and was admitted to practice in New South Wales and the Northern Territory in 1982, and in Western Australia in 1989.
She served as a judge of the District Court of WA from 2001-2004 before her appointment to the Supreme Court. She retired as the then longest-serving judge in WA after presiding over civil and criminal matters for more than 15 years.
The Hon Lindy Jenkins served as a part-time Law Reform Commission (LRC) member and has been chair of the LRC on since September 2020.
Colin Murphy (PSM)
Colin Murphy (PSM) is the former Auditor General for Western Australia, where he served for more than 11 years. As the independent Auditor General, he reported to Parliament on a range of issues, recommending improvements in governance and public administration and implementing innovations in standards and processes.
Colin has extensive experience in finance and administration in both State and Commonwealth Government roles. He has held senior leadership positions within the State Government in the Departments of Justice, Treasury and Finance, Land Administration and the Building Management Authority. He has also worked for the Commonwealth Department of Finance in Perth and Washington DC and as Business Manager for Murdoch University.
Colin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Australia. He is a Fellow, former Board member and Past State President of CPA Australia, and a Fellow member of Chartered Secretaries Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand.
He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and President of the Institute of Public Administration Western Australia. Colin also served as a board member of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) for nine years, where he led the Project Advisory Group that was instrumental in the development of a new Performance Auditing Standard for Australia.
Senior Counsel Assisting
- Ms Patricia Cahill SC
- Mr Michael Feutrill SC
Junior Counsel Assisting
- Ms Kirsten Nelson
- Mr Adam Sharpe
- Mr David Leigh
- Ms Ann Spencer
- Ms Verity Long-Droppert
Solicitors Assisting
- Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Perth
