The Hon. Jennifer Coate AO to be acting Chair of the VLRC

The Hon. Jennifer Coate AO has been appointed as Acting Chair of the VLRC while the Hon. Tony North KC is serving as a Commissioner of Victoria’s formal truth telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission.

Mr North was formally appointed to Yoorrook by the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC on Tuesday 30 January 2024, and commenced in the role effective immediately.

The Hon. Jennifer Coate AO, a Commissioner of the VLRC since 2020, has held many judicial appointments including Magistrate, Deputy Chief Magistrate, the inaugural President of the Children’s Court of Victoria, Judge of the County Court of Victoria, the first female State Coroner of Victoria, and a judge of the Family Court of Australia. She served on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as one of six Commissioners for five years. In 2020, she conducted an Inquiry into Hotel Quarantine in Victoria. She was appointed to the Victorian Law Reform Commission in June 2020 and reappointed for four years in July 2022. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law in May 2022, and was awarded Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by Monash University in September 2023. 

Media inquiries: nick.gadd@lawreform.vic.gov.au