Tribunal Member

Ms Higgins is a New South Wales barrister who has been a practising lawyer for 25 years. She has a Master’s degree (with Honours) in law and has also studied alternative dispute resolution.

Ms Higgins started her legal career with the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department in the Justice and Criminal Law Division. From there she moved to the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution where she headed the Major Fraud Branch in Sydney.

She then moved to New Zealand where she worked as a senior litigation lawyer and head of the Fair Trading Branch of the New Zealand Commerce Commission. 

After four years in New Zealand, Ms Higgins moved to Switzerland where she held the position of Executive Secretary of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), one of the oldest and most respected international non-government organisations. The focus of the work of the ICJ is the rule of law, the protection of human rights and the independence of the judiciary. 

After returning to Australia, Ms Higgins commenced practice as a barrister. Her areas of interest are administrative law, commercial law and equity. While practising at the New South Wales bar she has continued to hold statutory positions, including being a part-time member of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal and the Commonwealth Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys Disciplinary Tribunal.