Meet the Council
The Council can have up to 14 independent members.
Members are appointed by the Governor in Council, following recommendations from the Attorney-General. Members are typically legal experts or community advocates with experience in areas such as criminal law, domestic and family violence, supporting victims of crime, addressing justice issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and youth justice.
Members serve a three-year term.
People interested in becoming a member apply by submitting an expression of interest.
Current members | Secretariat |Former chairs| Former members
Current members
Kristy Bell - Acting Chair
Kristy is a Queensland Accredited Criminal Law Specialist and is consistently recognised as one of the state’s leading criminal defence lawyers by the Doyle’s Guide. She is Chair of the Queensland Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee and a member of the Specialist Accreditation Committee.
Kristy has worked on a variety of criminal and quasi criminal matters throughout her legal career, including investigative hearings, commissions, coronial inquests, and criminal confiscations matters.
Kristy has also conducted prosecutions on behalf of the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Kristy adopts a thoughtful and empathetic approach to her clients, ensuring that discretion is paramount in handling all matters, regardless of her clients’ profiles.
Danielle Carroll
Danielle is a leading advocate for secondary victims of domestic and family violence and the Managing Director and founder of the Kelly Wilkinson Foundation. Danielle established the Foundation following the tragic murder of her sister Kelly Wilkinson due to domestic violence, leaving Danielle to raise Kelly’s children. Danielle has a deep commitment to social justice and community support, established to ensure systemic change and that no one feels alone or unsupported in the wake of tragedy. She is recognised for her compassionate leadership, tireless advocacy, and ability to unite community partners, governments, and service providers around a shared mission.
Nathan Crane
Nathan serves as a Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and has acted for the state in a wide range of criminal matters, including many high profile and notable cases. Nathan has been actively involved in regional chambers, particularly in Queensland’s Far North, including Townsville and Cairns regions.
With over a decade of service to the state, Nathan has appeared as lead counsel in numerous significant appeals and trials, including cases involving double murders and cold case investigations. In addition to his courtroom work, Nathan has contributed to professional development by conducting internal and external training sessions for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, sharing his extensive expertise with colleagues.
Julie Dick SC
Julie is currently involved in various roles within the Queensland legal system. She chairs the Forensic Science Queensland Advisory Panel and is also a sessional member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. She has also led a review of Queensland's serious and organised crime laws. Previously, Julie served as a judge in Queensland courts. She was a District Court judge for over two decades, a judge on the Children's Court, including a term as President, and acted as a Supreme Court judge.
Matt Jackson
Matt is a barrister specialising in criminal and regulatory law. He holds a Master of Laws from QUT, with his thesis exploring the intersection of sentencing reforms for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). He has a keen interest in human rights and discrimination law. Matt was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2016, as a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia in 2018, and as a Barrister for the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2018.
Scott Lynch
Scott brings decades of experience practising in the criminal jurisdiction across Queensland. He was admitted as solicitor in 1988 before being called to the Bar in 1997. Scott initially established chambers in Toowoomba, where he maintained a broad general practice, including criminal, family, industrial, succession and family maintenance claims, as well as providing personal injury advice.
In 2002, Scott moved to Brisbane but has continued to represent clients throughout regional Queensland, frequently appearing in Central and Northern Queensland. In addition to his legal practice, Scott is a regular presenter at various law conferences held throughout the year, sharing his extensive knowledge and expertise with the legal community.
Sherrie Meyer
Sherrie is the Chair of the Board of Management at the Queensland Homicide Victims' Support Group (QHVSG). Driven by the tragic loss of her son in 1993, she became a founding member of QHVSG. A highly experienced mental health professional, Sherrie is an accredited social worker specialising in child trauma counselling. She has also served as a victim support case manager, child safety support officer, and domestic and family violence support worker.
Natalie Merlehan
Natalie is a prominent victims’ rights advocate, criminologist, and Director of the Voice for Victims Foundation, a Queensland-based initiative dedicated to amplifying the voices of those affected by serious violent crime while ensuring they receive the support and recognition they deserve. Natalie’s advocacy stems from lived experience and has evolved into sustained campaigns for justice reform, with a strong focus on transparency, accountability, and community safety.
During her time with the Voice for Victims Foundation, Natalie has drawn on her personal experiences to make impactful legislative submissions, identifying systemic gaps and advocating for trauma-informed justice responses. Her work has contributed to significant discussions around bail reform, sentencing transparency, and recognition of secondary victims in the justice system.
Brett Schafferius
Brett is the Assistant Commissioner of Police for the Far Northern Region, based in Cairns. He oversees policing operations in one of the state's most dynamic and challenging regions, encompassing diverse communities across the Torres Strait and Cape York. Brett brings extensive policing experience to this role, with a particular focus on criminal investigations. He has worked in various locations throughout regional Queensland, leading numerous successful investigations into serious crime. Brett holds a postgraduate qualification from Charles Sturt University and the Australian Institute of Police Management.
Thelma Schwartz
Thelma is the Principal Legal Officer of Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault. She was previously a member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.
Thelma has worked extensively with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, providing legal services and legal representation as a criminal defence solicitor with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service for over nine years.
Thelma identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage alongside her German/Samoan and Papua New Guinean heritage.
Douglas Wilson
Doug Wilson was called to the Bar in 2007 after graduating with an Honours degree in Law from the Queensland University of Technology. Following a year as a Judge’s Associate, he began his practice at the private Bar in Queensland, where he remains today.
He specialises in criminal law, focusing on trial and appellant work in the Supreme and District Courts of Queensland. Known to be an accomplished cross-examiner, he is frequently sought after to represent high profile individuals, including politicians, police officers, lawyers, organised crime identities to represent them for all types of criminal offences.
Doug is also briefed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute trials and sentences in both the District and Supreme Courts.
He is an active member of the Queensland Bar Association, having been on the New Bar Committee and the Criminal Law Committee in recent years. He volunteers his time to judge students undertaking their mock court hearings on the Bar Practice Course.
Earlier in his career, Doug was a sessional academic at the QUT teaching criminal law and evidence law.
Secretariat
The Council is supported by a small, multi-disciplinary Secretariat administered by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
April Chrzanowski - Director
April is the Director of the Secretariat of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, and has unique expertise in law, criminology and mathematics.
Having worked in the private legal profession, the university sector, and within Queensland government, she has applied experience in criminal justice policy, evaluation, research, and teaching.
April is deeply passionate about evidence-based justice policy.
Former chairs
The Honourable Ann Lyons AM
October 2023 - September 2025
Ann was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2006 until her retirement in 2021. She was appointed Senior Judge Administrator in 2017 and previously held positions as Criminal Listings Judge and president of the Mental Health Court.
John Robertson
June 2018 - August 2023
John was appointed a District Court judge in 1994 and spent his judicial career as a judge of the Childrens Court of Queensland. He also wrote the Queensland Sentencing Manual which was first published in 1999.
James Morton
November 2016 – May 2017
While serving as the Council’s chair John was working as a defence barrister and also researching the over-representation of Torres Strait Islander offenders in the criminal justice system. He resigned from the Council upon his appointment as a magistrate.
Former members
- Beck O'Connor (July 2024 - September 2025)
- Elena Marchetti (November 2016 – August 2025)
- Dan Rogers (November 2016 – August 2025)
- Debbie Kilroy (November 2016 – August 2025)
- Jo Bryant (June 2018 – August 2025)
- Warren Strange (November 2016 – September 2024)
- Jakub Lodziak (June – September 2024)
- Philip McCarthy KC (July 2019 – August 2024)
- Jon Rouse APM (May – June 2024)
- Katarina Prskalo KC (July 2019 – March 2024)
- Boneta-Marie Mabo (May 2021 – February 2024)
- Debbie Platz (August 2022 – March 2023)
- Helen Watkins (November 2016 – July 2022)
- Cheryl Scanlon APM (May 2018 – July 2022)
- Mr B Costello (June 2018 – September 2021)
- Kathleen Payne (November 2016 – July 2020)
- John Allen QC (November 2016 – December 2018)
- Vicki Loury QC (June 2018 – December 2018)
- Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford (November 2016 – May 2018)
- Michael Cowen QC (November 2016 – August 2017)