The Reviewer
The Honourable Catherine Holmes AC SC is a graduate of the University of Queensland and the Australian National University, with undergraduate degrees in Law, Arts (Hons) and Economics and a Master's degree in Law. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1982 and as a barrister in 1984. In 1999 she was appointed Senior Counsel.
Ms Holmes was a founding member of the Women's Legal Service (from 1984) and was a member of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (1992 – 2000). From 1998 to 1999 she served as Counsel Assisting the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions.
Ms Holmes was appointed Chief Justice of Queensland in 2015 and resigned from that position in March 2022. She had previously served as a judge of the Court of Appeal (2006 – 2015) and of the Trial Division (2000 – 2006) of the Supreme Court of Queensland. In January 2020, Ms Holmes was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia.
From January 2011 to March 2012, Ms Holmes was Commissioner of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry and from August 2022 to July 2023, she was the Commissioner for the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.