Council welcomes Ms Julie Dick SC and Mr Matthew Jackson

Media statement

The Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to the Council:

Recently retired District Court Judge Julie Dick SC and Mr Matthew Jackson.

Julie Dick retired in June 2022 after more than two decades as a sitting judge of the District Court of Queensland. Ms Dick was first appointed to the District Court in 2000, serving as a Judge of the Childrens Court of Queensland from 2001 and as the President of the Childrens Court of Queensland from 2007 to 2010. She was also appointed as an acting judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 2011 to 2012.

Ms Dick has recently been appointed to co-chair the Forensic Science Queensland’s new interim advisory board, and has been leading a review of Queensland’s serious and organised crime laws. She was also recently appointed as a sessional member of QCAT.

Ms Dick brings with her a wealth of criminal law and sentencing experience from her time both as a judicial officer and prior to this, as Senior Counsel appearing in many high-profile criminal trials. She was the inaugural Parliamentary Criminal Justice Commissioner from 1998 to December 2000.

Matthew Jackson is a barrister who practises in criminal and regulatory law who also has an interest in human rights and discrimination law. He 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.

In 2020, he was awarded a Master of Laws from QUT, with his thesis considering how sentencing reforms for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples might operate alongside the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) which establishes a right to equality before the law.

Council Chair John Robertson welcomed the appointment of his former District Court colleague, Ms Dick, and Mr Jackson.

‘Both bring different professional backgrounds and experiences to the Council, but share a common depth of understanding of how sentencing laws and practices can have impacts across the criminal justice system and the importance of enhancing community understanding of sentencing,’ Mr Robertson said.

‘I have no doubt they will both make an outstanding contribution to the work of the Council.’

The appointment of these new members brings the total membership of the Council to 12. Members are appointed for a three-year term:

The Council provides independent research and advice, seek public views and promotes community understanding of sentencing matters.

Media notes

• The Council provides independent research and advice, seek public views and promote community understanding of sentencing matters.
• For more sentencing statistics, visit the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council website: www.sentencingcouncil.qld.gov.au/statistics