President's remarks: Welcome ceremony for new members

President’s Remarks

Welcome Ceremony for new and newly promoted members

Wednesday 12 November 2025

I welcome you all here this morning for this members’ ceremony, I also extend that welcome to any of our indigenous brothers and sisters present here this morning.
To the friends and family members of the folks we are celebrating this morning, I am sure you are all aware of the hard work, long hours and commitment the law demands. None of them could have got to where they are today without your love and support, so well done
all of you. This morning I hope recognises your role in their success.

I would also like to welcome some distinguished guests here this morning, Mr Michael Tidball, Secretary of the Department of Communities and Justice, and Mr Shane Prince SC, the Head of Chambers at State Chambers.

This year is very much a case of change and rejuvenation in our members’ ranks. We have had a number of very experienced, long-serving members retire who must be replaced. We have been blessed with the interest that was shown by the legal profession in joining us, and I am delighted with the result of recruitment.

On behalf of the Commission’s members and staff, I want to welcome and congratulate you all on your appointments. The Commission has decided to celebrate each new appointment with this ceremony which recognises your achievement and marks the public importance of the role you are about to embark upon. My remarks this morning are of course directed to you, our new or newly promoted members, but they have equal application to every member of the Commission.

The work you have committed yourself to perform is a significant act of public service. You are a part of the system of courts and tribunals whose role it is to uphold the Rule of Law in NSW. This Commission operates in the NSW justice sector. In the dangerous world in which we now live, the importance of the Rule of Law cannot be overstated or taken for granted. It is the difference between civilisation and the dictatorships.

In being a member of this Commission each of you are part of the legacy stretching back to its initial establishment as the Workers Compensation Commission in 1926. Next year we will celebrate the centenary of delivering justice to injured citizens in NSW. During this almost 100 years of service, Commission decision makers, be they judges or tribunal members, have been deciding cases through thick and thin - the Great Depression, World War II, the post war expansion of the economy and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been a myriad of legislative changes and crises, yet this Commission and its decision makers have endured because of the importance of the work and the importance of doing it well. Part of what is being entrusted to you all is the responsibility to continue this century of service.

One question I hope you are asking yourself is this – what sort of decision maker do I want to be and how will I approach this task?
It is a fair question deserving thought and reflection. Sir Harry Gibbs, one of the great Chief Justices of the High Court of Australia, put it this way: “The rule of law was an idea that cases, civil or criminal, are decided by applying legal rules, antecedently established, to facts dispassionately found.”

This is your job.
The role you are embarking on though is different from most other professional undertakings. It is a quasi-judicial role where you will be deciding rights between competing parties in an adversarial environment. The life is almost monastic in this sense – you do have to put behind you certain activities which the reasonable observer would judge to be incompatible with the position you now hold. To quote the COAT Practice Manual, “In private life, a tribunal member should behave in a way that upholds the integrity and good reputation of the tribunal.” This obligation applies both to what you do and should not do in your private life.

Each of you brings a different set of life and professional experiences which will enrich the Commission and be of benefit to the citizens we serve. I will briefly refer to that experience:

The Hon. Adam Searle – Deputy President

You bring a vast range of experience to the Commission, across the law and public service. You have a BA (first class honours) and a Masters in Labour Law and Relations, both from the University of Sydney.

Between 1995-2000 you were the Chief of Staff for the Hon Jeff Shaw QC, the then Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations in NSW and in this role you had the carriage of the development of much legislation, including special laws for the victims of dust diseases and the refinement of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 to mention a few. In 2000 you were called to Bar and practiced there for the next 25 years across employment, industrial law, judicial review matters, personal injury and public law areas. You even spent a number of years appearing against me in fights in the NSW electricity industry. Those were the days …

From 2011 to 2023 you were a member of the NSW Parliament in the Legislative Council holding a number of shadow ministries and frequently sitting as a member of the Committee for Law and Justice, the committee which supervises and reviews the acts of Parliament this Commission administers.
In the areas that you will now decide cases in; you have great experience in them as both a practitioner and legislator.

In the Commission’s structure, the role of Deputy President is second only to that of the President. It is a role that seldom falls vacant and demands a lot of its occupant.

You will hear appeals from members’ decisions, the job is to either confirm or overturn the decisions of your new colleagues who sit downstairs. No pressure.

You will also act as President in the President’s absence. Your legal skills and experience will be very well suited to this important role.

Richard Perrignon – Division Head Police Officer Support Scheme

You hold degrees in arts and law from the University of Sydney and are a nationally accredited mediator. You were a solicitor at Freehills and Allans, so hard work is no stranger to you. After 6 years in the solicitors’ branch, you were called to the Bar in 1992 and have practised continually since.

You became an Arbitrator in the former Workers Compensation Commission in 2010 and then a Member of this Commission on foundation in 2021. You have also been a senior member at NCAT since 2014. You are thus a very experienced decision maker in a tribunal setting.

Your role is a new one for the Commission. In 2024 the Commission was granted the new jurisdiction of the new Police Officer Support Scheme, the statutory successor of the Blue-Ribbon Scheme. You bring great experience in acting for the Commissioner of Police in the whole variety of Police matters, be they hurt-on-duty claims, workers compensation and other Police personal injury matters. Your task is to direct the new work, lead the Division, and its decision making.

Outside these activities you have lectured in law at both the Australian Catholic University and the UNSW. You are the President of the St Thomas More Society in NSW as well as being the conductor of one of the best choirs in this city at St Johns College at Sydney University. I am told that to relax you have played the ancient organs in some of the largest Cathedrals in Europe.

Rachel Homan Senior Member

You have degrees in Asian Studies from the ANU, a first-class honours law degree from UTS and a Masters of International Law from the University of Sydney. An accredited mediator, you have been admitted since 2003.

You commenced working as a decision maker in various Commonwealth tribunals in 2004 including the Refugee Review Tribunal and the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In 2017, you saw the light and joined the former Workers Compensation Commission as an Arbitrator. You were one of the foundation members of this Commission in 2021 and have been a hugely productive member.

As a senior member of the Commission, you will receive more complex matters to adjudicate and will assist the Division Head in the operation of the Division.

Susan McTegg – Senior Member

You have a Bachelor’s degree in law and have been an accredited personal injury specialist since 1998. You commenced work in the Attorney Generals Department working in various courts around Sydney and the mountains before commencing in private practice as a solicitor in 1986. From then on you worked at various law firms specialising in personal injury litigation and in particular on behalf of injured Police Officers. You were the solicitor in one of the leading cases dealing with s 11A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987, Manly Pacific International Hotel Pty Ltd v Doyle [1999] NSWCA 465.

You became an assessor in the old Dispute Resolution Service, specialising in deciding motor accident disputes before also becoming a foundation member of this Commission in 2021. You get through a power of work and your decisions are of high quality. By dent of your skills and experience you will be well suited to taking on greater responsibility as a Senior Member of the Commission across motor accidents and Police Divisions.

GENERAL

The varied skills, qualifications and experience you all possess and which I have just briefly touched upon will be of great benefit to the Commission and to the citizens that we serve. In addition though, there are a number of qualities which are the hallmark of a tribunal member.

In my opinion, each of you possess these qualities.

None of these attributes exist in isolation from the others. Collectively they inform and instruct the decision maker how to conduct themselves in a way which enhances public confidence and their perception of the tribunal. Remember, the public having trust in decision making is the sine non qua of an effective tribunal.

Independence – this is the core of decision making, whether being exercised by a judge or a tribunal member. It is not a benefit or prize bestowed on the individual decision maker. It is not a precious thing to be jealously guarded. Rather, it is a very clear message to every citizen that the decision maker hearing their case is free from any external interference or pressure and that as a consequence they can have confidence in the decision maker approaching their dispute with a mind that is open to persuasion. The decision-making independence you now have acquired exists for the benefit of the citizens whose disputes will be decided by each of you.

A corollary to the attribute of independence is of course impartiality. Everybody appearing before you being treated in the same manner is central to this attribute. People are very quick to notice if one side is being favoured which serves to undermine the whole process and is why impartiality is so important. Not only the actual observance of impartiality, but it also must be apparent to any observer of the proceedings.

Courtesy and respect are essential. For a lot of litigants their appearance before you may be the first and only time they are before a court or tribunal. You should require those appearing before you to exhibit these qualities while being an exemplar of them yourself. A hearing is not combat by other means. The application of these virtues is even more important when a witness is giving evidence. Remember the witness is in your care during this process, the process should be firm but civil.

These virtues of courtesy and respect should also be displayed to your colleagues and the Commission staff. Remember it is they who are your greatest support in this vocation. The life of a decision maker can be lonely. It is you and a blank piece of paper at the start of every decision. Having good colleagues is a tremendous gift to each decision maker. So treat them well.

I would also remark that humility is a singular attribute that a decision maker should have and exhibit. You sit in a position of great power over your fellow citizens. This needs to be acknowledged and understood. Conducting oneself in a haughty or arrogant manner will simply decrease the trust and confidence the parties will have in the process and any decision you subsequently deliver. Everybody in the room will know that the decision will be made by you, the power in your hands is known. You do not need to tell anyone about it. Being humble gives a message that you know this and that it is a sacred trust that you will execute professionally.

Next is hard work. I will not mislead you, conducting hearings and decision writing is a tough vocation. Do not be daunted by this, the more decisions you write the more proficient you will become. The harder you examine the case, the more likely it is that the just and correct result will emerge.

And bear this in mind, litigation in Sydney is conducted by some tough characters. Some days it is not for the faint-hearted. Expect to be tested.

But it is a new and different application of your legal skills. You will get better at it only by application and hard work.
A sense of humour and perspective is also not out of place. There will be witnesses, parties and, dare I say it, some lawyers, who will infuriate you. You may come out of a hearing exhausted by the fight that has taken place. While smoke still lingers in the air and the bodies are being removed from the battlefield, the task will fall to you to decide who won.

There will be decisions that you will write which will be adversely commented upon by others and which may be appealed.

You may be overturned, which can be galling after all the hard work you have put into the decision.

Your decision may be criticised and worse, you may think that the whole world will read it. I will however give you this tip - normally only the parties will read your decision or colleagues with too much time on their hands.

Can you think of it this way – worse things happen at sea.

One of the judges put her feelings about appeals in this pithy way to me, “Sometimes in error, never in doubt!”

In short, have confidence in yourself and have resilience. For the past decade we had seldom troubled the scorer in the Court of Appeal and I do not see that changing with the calibre of member that we have.

An appeal is the system operating in the way in which it is meant to. It is the price you pay for having decision making independence. It is part of the checks and balances which gives the public confidence in what we do. It is the occupational hazard of all decision makers so I would make my peace with that at the outset. Do not approach each decision with an eye to what may or may not happen on appeal, you will just make yourself unhappy. And it will not improve the quality of the decision you are drafting.

You have been appointed because we see these qualities in each of you.

It is not just your legal skills, having them is assumed and you are expected to diligently apply them to the facts of each case. But by exhibiting the various virtues I have described, that is over and above your legal skills, you will be terrific members in the senior roles you have been appointed to.

We have every confidence in each of you to do this job very well.

Once again congratulations on your appointment, we are delighted that you are either joining the Commission or are being promoted and I hope you will find your new roles a rewarding experience.

Judge G.M. Phillips

President, Personal Injury Commission of New South Wales