Our Advisory Panel

An Advisory Panel has been established to provide additional expertise to the review.

The Advisory Panel is co-chaired by the Queensland Human Rights Commissioner and the Queensland Police Service Commissioner. Other members are external to the QPS and the Commission.

Purpose and role

The role of the Advisory Panel is to provide specialist advice on issues within scope of the review, including:

  • issues that should be prioritised by the review;
  • considerations in conducting the review; and
  • risks and mitigation strategies.

The Advisory Panel meets every quarter during the review, and additional meetings may be scheduled as required.

The Advisory Panel is advisory in nature, is not a decision-making body and does not have decision-making capacity. The Advisory Panel and its members do not represent the review.

Functions

In performing their role, the members of the Advisory Panel will:

  • attend and participate in meetings by providing input and advice based on their specialist experience;
  • act as a sounding board during the review, which may include providing input or feedback on aspects of the review;
  • review and analyse information received in relation to the review; and
  • support the Commission to conduct consultations, engagements and site visits as requested.

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Advisory Panel members

Kristen Hilton

Kristen Hilton is a former Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner and has worked across public, private and community sectors. She has deep expertise in gender equality, human rights, ethical leadership, diversity and inclusion and organisational change.

During Kristen’s year term as Commissioner, she led transformational reviews into harassment and discrimination in Victoria Police, Victoria’s Fire Service and Ambulance Victoria. She recently led a Cultural Review of Victoria’s Corrections system with a had a specific focus on Aboriginal cultural safety and served as an expert advisor on the Victoria Racing Integrity’s Commission into abuse and harm in the racing industry.

Kristen convenes a number of Champions of Change groups across Australia promoting gender equality and in 2023, Kristen was appointed to the Board of the AFL Players Association and is their inaugural Chair of the AFLPA’s Human Rights Steering Committee. Kristen is a former Churchill fellow and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and now runs her own specialist human rights advisory practice.

Linda Williams

Deputy Commissioner of Police Linda Williams APM LEM, directly supports the Police Commissioner in his responsibility for the safety and protection of the state, serving 1.8 million South Australians, over one million square kilometres, while leading an organisation of nearly 6,000 employees.

Linda is a career police officer with over 40 years of experience after joining SAPOL as a cadet. She has worked across a diverse range of areas including frontline policing, prosecutions, internal investigations, crime prevention, road safety, counter terrorism and policy development.

Appointed as Deputy Police Commissioner on 21 July 2015 after twelve years in SAPOL’s senior management and executive team, Linda performs the role of Commissioner of Police, and as such, the State Coordinator under the Emergency Management Act, when required to do so.

Linda holds tertiary qualifications including a Bachelor of Law with Honours, Bachelor of Arts, Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Graduate Certificate in Management and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Criminology and Police Management.

Thelma Schwartz

Thelma Schwartz is the Principal Legal Officer of the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS), an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors of family violence and/or sexual assault across 90+ communities in Queensland including the Outer Islands of the Torres Straits.

Thelma identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage, alongside her German Samoan and Papua New Guinea heritage; she is an award-winning lawyer and has worked as a legal practitioner for over 24 years. Thelma is an unwavering advocate for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence advocating for system reforms and improving access to justice especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Thelma has worked extensively with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Northern Territory and regional/ remote Qld, with her practice experience and policy/ law reform expertise seeing her provide evidence before Royal Commissions, Commissions of Inquiry and as a taskforce Member of the Qld Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

Peter Forday

Peter Forday is a respected leader in cultural diversity and in shaping organisations that value welcome, belonging and inclusion. He is the former CEO of MultiLink Community Services, and the former Chair of the Police Ethnic Advisory Group, Multicultural Australia and the Cohesive Communities Coalition.

Peter received a Premier’s Scholarship to participate in the inaugural Harvard based Queensland Leadership Program. He is also an alumnus of the Executive Challenge Academy, and subsequently over several years, coordinated ECA programs in Brisbane, the Hague, London and Houston for senior and executive leaders from a number of Queensland based community and government agencies, including the QPS.

Peter remains on the boards of Multicultural Australia, as well as being on the boards of YFS and Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Queensland. He is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow with Griffith University, and he also operates an independent consultancy delivering leadership coaching and facilitation for individuals and organisations seeking better ways to engage, develop and lead others.

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