Ron Merkel QC (Chair)

Ron practiced as a barrister since 1971 and as a Queens Counsel since 1982. He was appointed and sat as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 1996 until retiring from the Court in 2006. Since 2006, he has practiced again as a barrister with a particular focus on public interest and indigenous matters.

Ron has occupied the following positions – Founding member of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service; Founding Trustee and Treasurer of the Koori Aboriginal Heritage Trust; President of the Victorian and Australian Councils of Civil Liberties; Founding President of the Victorian Immigration Advice and Rights Centre and part-time Commissioner of the Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

In addition to Chairing the Board of Directors for the Code, he is the Chairperson of the Victorian Government Statutory Independent Review Panel, which reviews the probity of the new regulatory and licensing processes for gambling in Victoria. He is also a patron of the Koorie Heritage Trust, the Anna Wearne Trust and the East West Foundation of Australia.