The Hon Diana Bryant AO QC holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from The University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws degree from Monash University.
Admitted as a legal practitioner in Victoria in 1970, Diana Bryant worked from 1977 to 1990 as a partner with Phillips Fox in Perth where she practised as a solicitor and counsel specialising in family law. She was also a Director of Australian Airlines from 1984 to 1989. She then practiced at the Victorian Bar specialising in family law and de facto property disputes. She was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1997 and was a founding member of Chancery Chambers, Melbourne. From 2000 to 2004 Her Hon was head of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
Throughout her career, Justice Bryant has worked to advance women in the law. She was involved in establishing the Women Lawyers of Western Australia and is a Patron of Australian Women Lawyers (since 2009 and in recognition of her support for women lawyers and efforts to promote equality of opportunity for women in the community) and a member of the Australian Association of Women Judges.
In 2012 The Hon Diana Bryant was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law, particularly to family law policy reform and practice, through the establishment of the Federal Magistrates Court, and to the advancement of women in the legal profession”. She was inducted into the Western Australian Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018.
Her Honour chairs a working group for the Hague Permanent Bureau in relation to Article 13(b) of the Child Abduction Convention, while also working with the National Judicial College to facilitate workshops for the judiciary throughout Australia. She was the Judge in Residence at Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne in 2018 and 2019. |