Vale Dianne Smith- you will be sorely missed

Friday August 3, 2007

Judicial Registrar Dianne Smith is today retiring after 13 years as a Judicial Registrar in the Brisbane Registry of the Family Court. There will be a ceremonial sitting of the Full Court in Brisbane today to mark her retirement. Dianne has had a long and distinguished career, including: -being the first female President of the… Read More »Custom Single Post Header

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award

Member of Queensland law society

Family law Practitioners Association

International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL

Mediator Standards Board

Vale Dianne Smith- you will be sorely missed

Friday, August 03, 2007

Judicial Registrar Dianne Smith is today retiring after 13 years as a Judicial Registrar in the Brisbane Registry of the Family Court. There will be a ceremonial sitting of the Full Court in Brisbane today to mark her retirement.

Dianne has had a long and distinguished career, including:
-being the first female President of the Family Law Practitioners Association of Qld
-being the first female City Solicitor of Brisbane
-being a national pioneer in the representation of children.

On the bench, Dianne was extremely hardworking, well respected throughout the profession and simply of the top order. She had remarkable patience for someone who had the burden of such a busy list.

For those of us who have been around long enough to remember Dianne before she was appointed to the bench, she was a strong advocate for her clients but with that came the obvious care she had for her clients and the ability to see opposing points of view. She was a representative of children par excellence.

Dianne will be sorely missed.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Forced Marriage

On November 1st 2023, Accredited Family Law Specialist and Page Provan Director Stephen Page presented a paper at the Brisbane Zonta Club about forced marriage. I acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, on whose lands we meet today, their elders, past, present and emerging. Ruqia Hidari was aged 21 and living in Victoria, when, according to police,… Read More »Forced Marriage

ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

The ACT Government has today introduced a bill to amend the ACT’s surrogacy laws. The proposed changes are more incremental than fundamental. They include allowing a single person to undertake surrogacy, for the surrogate to be single if needed, a requirement for legal advice and counselling beforehand, a written agreement being required, that traditional surrogacy is… Read More »ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

ADR can help resolve disputes in ART cases. ADR is not limited to mediation and arbitration. Other types of informal dispute resolution can resolve disputes. When assisted reproductive treatment cases go off the rails, they can have the next level of bitterness and volatility. There can be a keen sense of betrayal when things don’t… Read More »Planning to resolve: ADR in ART