Michelle Gardner
Member, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)
Michelle Gardner is a Gunditjmara woman and a lawyer who has extensive experience in mental health, guardianship, human rights and social security law. She has worked for over 20 years as a legal member in a number of Tribunals nationally. These include Mental Health Review Tribunal in NSW, the Commonwealth Social Security Appeals Tribunal, NCAT and VCAT. She has been the first Aboriginal woman to be appointed as a legal member in each of these Tribunals.
She also has a background in developing Aboriginal policy and programs across the public sector in the areas of the human rights, anti-discrimination, environment, water and natural resource management.
She established and is a founding member of Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre in NSW where she was Chair and Treasurer for many years.
Michelle Gardner has spoken at a number of conferences on first nations issues, including previously at COAT.