The Honourable Justice Jill Williams Justice Williams was appointed as a Justice of the Family Court of Australia (now known as a Division 1 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia) on 8 February 2019. Her Honour currently sits on the Full Court in Division 1 of the Court hearing family law appeals, whilst maintaining a family law trial list. Her Honour is also a designated Hague Network Judge, with responsibility for applications arising under The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. She is co-chair of the court’s Education Committee and a member of the International Committtee. Justice Williams was initially appointed as a Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia) in February 2016. Prior to her appointment, she was a member of the Victorian Bar, practising for eight years exclusively in family law. Prior to signing the bar roll, she was a family law Registrar of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court. She was the Magellan Registrar and a member and secretary of the Family Court Rules Committee. Subsequent to her appointment, she has developed an interest in legal education, in particular, assisting young lawyers with advocacy skills and court presentation.

The Hon. Mr Justice MacDonald Mr Justice MacDonald studied archaeology at the University of Nottingham. After graduation, he worked as a field archaeologist with the Trent & Peak Archaeological Trust for three years before deciding to undertake a career in law. Mr Justice MacDonald undertook a Diploma in Law at City University in 1994 and the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law in 1995. He was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1995 and spent his career practising primarily in the law relating to children. From 2006 to 2008 Mr Justice MacDonald was the Co-Chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children and is the author of The Rights of the Child – Law and Practice (2011) and The Rights of the Child – Annotated Materials (2014). Mr Justice MacDonald was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2011. He was appointed to the High Court in 2015 and assigned to the Family Division. He is the Family Presiding Judge for London and is the Deputy Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales and a Hague Network Judge.

Her Honour Judge Jacquelyn (Jackie) Moran was appointed a Family Court Judge in 2003 and became Principal Family Court Judge in November 2018. She is New Zealand’s fifth Principal Family Court Judge and the first woman appointed to the role since the Family Court’s establishment in 1981. Born in Ngāruawāhia and educated at Baradene College in Auckland and the University of Auckland, Judge Moran graduated LLB in 1979. After admission to the bar in 1980 she practised for 23 years mainly in family law in Ōtāhuhu, Whanganui, and Invercargill. From 1990 she was in sole practice in Invercargill, and for ten of those years worked exclusively in family law. While in Southland, she helped establish the Southland Abuse Intervention Programme, and chaired the Southland Care and Protection Resource panel. She was a member of the Southland District Law Society Family Law Committee and president of the Southland Family Courts Association. She was also a member of the New Zealand Law Society Family Law Section and Matrimonial and de Facto Property Committee. When appointed a District Court Judge with a Family warrant Judge Moran was assigned to Christchurch. For six years she was the Administrative Family Court Judge for the Southern Region, and for a brief period in 2014 she served as Acting Principal Family Court Judge. She has been a member of Canterbury Family Justice Network and took an active role in designing and rolling out nationally the Early Intervention Process to deal efficiently with Care of Children Act 2004 proceedings. In 2013-2014 she was a judicial member of the working party on Family Court reforms introduced at that time.