CHRISTINE MELIS
BARRISTER ◆ ADVOCATE
Currently
Christine is currently Counsel Assisting in the Inquiry into the convictions on 9 February 1981 of the ‘Croatian Six’.
She recently appeared for Corrective Services NSW in the Special Commission of Inquiry into offending by former corrections officer Wayne Astill at Dillwynia Women’s Correctional Centre.
In 2022/23 she acted as Counsel Assisting in the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes (NSW), a world first inquiry investigating unsolved deaths suspected of being motivated by hate between 1970-2010. The Final Report, published in December 2023, can be viewed here.
This International Women’s Day Chris participated as a special guest in a panel discussion with Mills Oakley on this year’s theme #InspireInclusion.
EXCELLENCE IN ◆ STRATEGY ◆ OUTCOMES ◆ ADVOCACY
About
Across a career spanning 15 years at the Australian Bar, Christine has advised and appeared in a variety of high profile and groundbreaking matters including, the Lindt Cafe siege inquest that explored the first terrorism attack on Australian soil. She has subsequently accumulated considerable experience in the terrorism space. She maintains a strong interest in issues affecting national security including radicalisation, counter-terrorism and the assessment of risk of violent extremism.
Other notable matters that Chris has advised and appeared in include the Takata Airbag inquest and the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. Chris was part of the legal team that made the first ever applications for Serious Crime Prevention Orders against two Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in New South Wales. She has also appeared on a number of occasions before the Supreme Court of Nauru in appeals against decisions of the Refugee Status Review Tribunal.
Passions
Chris has served on a number of boards and committees including, Victorian Women Lawyers (President), Australian Women Lawyers (Vice President), the Inquests and Inquiries committee (NSW Bar), Victorian Bar Council and Women Barristers Forum (NSW).
Chris is passionate about advocacy and equality in the law. She is a trained Advocacy Instructor with the Australian Advocacy Institute and a previous sessional Lecturer in Trial Practice & Advocacy in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. She has taught criminal and civil advocacy to law students in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. She spearheaded a mentoring program for the female participants in PNG and named it, "Empowering Women in the Law in PNG".
