The Hon Virginia Bell AC

Virginia Bell served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from February 2009 until her retirement in March 2021. At the time of her appointment she was a judge of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. After graduating in law, she practised as a solicitor with the then newly established Redfern Legal Centre. She was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1984 and appointed a Senior Counsel in 1997. Between 1994 and 1997 she was counsel assisting the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service. She was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in March 1999. She served as President of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration from 2006 to 2008. In January 2012, she was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the judiciary and to the law through leadership in criminal law reform and as advocate for the economically and socially disadvantaged. In 2022, she conducted an Inquiry for the Commonwealth Government into the appointment of the former Prime Minister to administer multiple departments of state.