Classification Review Board members
The Classification Review Board is an independent statutory body whose members are chosen from a range of backgrounds to broadly represent the Australian community.
Members are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Australian Government, who consults with State and Territory Censorship Ministers. No members may serve for more than seven years.
The Review Board consists of a Convener, a Deputy Convener and at least three (but not more than eight) other part-time members.
The Review Board is given secretariat support by the Classification Branch of the Attorney-General's Department.
Who are the current Classification Review Board members?
- Victoria Rubensohn AM
- Fiona Jolly
- Ann Stark
- Helena Blundell
- Melissa de Zwart
- Jane Smith
- Peter Attard
Victoria Rubensohn~Victoria/$FILE/Victoria.jpg)
AM
Convenor
Appointed: 6 February 2009
Appointment Expires: 5 February 2012
Victoria Rubensohn AM holds a Master of Arts degree, a Master of Human Rights degree and a law degree and has been a Member of the Order of Australia since 2004. She has worked in radio and television in Australia and the USA, and more generally in communications, especially communications regulatory policy for most of her professional life. Victoria has been a Member of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, a Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal and Chairman of the National Film and Sound Archive. She has chaired Federal Government committees in the communications and intellectual property areas. Victoria chairs the Telephone Information Services Standards Council and runs an international communications consultancy, specialising in regulatory policy.
Fiona Jolly
Deputy Convenor
Appointed: 7 December 2011
Appointment Expires: 6 December 2014
Fiona Jolly, 43, resides in Wamboin NSW and works in the ACT. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Advertising Standards Bureau and previously held numerous positions with a number of Commonwealth Government Agencies. Fiona has also held positions on numerous Boards including as Director of the Australian Business Volunteers (current), the Ministerial Advisory Council for Women (ACT), Majura Primary School Board and as National President of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Australia.
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (ANU) and a Master of Laws (Melb.) specialising in communications and international trade law. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Fiona is the parent of four children aged three to eleven years and has been actively involved in her local community through her children’s school and sporting commitments as well her volunteer work with the YWCA over a period of 15 years.
Ann Stark ~Ann_Stark/$FILE/Ann_Stark.jpg)
Appointed: 26 April 2006
Reappointment: 26 April 2009
Appointment Expires: 25 April 2012
Ann Stark, 56, is a registered psychologist and mother of two adult children, residing in Hobart. Ann currently works in private practice specialising in couple and family therapy. She has served as an expert reporter in the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court on issues relating to the welfare of children. She is currently the Chairperson of the Tasmanian Psychologists Registration Board. Ann holds a part time appointment at the University of Tasmania lecturing in counsellor education, grief and trauma, and family and couple therapy. She has extensive involvement in a number of community organisations.
Helena Blundell~Helena/$FILE/Helena.jpg)
Appointed: 17 September 2009
Appointment Expires: 16 September 2013
Helena Blundell has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws awarded by the University of Queensland. She has worked as a Senior Investigation Officer for the Commonwealth Ombudsman in both Sydney and Darwin. She spent a number of years as an adventure tour guide in the Northern Territory’s Top End. Ms Blundell has worked for the North Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service as a policy lawyer and is currently employed with the NT Legal Aid Commission as a Criminal Barrister and Solicitor. Helena is in her third year as a board member of the Darwin YWCA and is on the Youth Justice Advisory Committee, which is a body set up pursuant to the Youth Justice Act in the Northern Territory.
Melissa de Zwart~DeZwart/$FILE/MelissaDeZwart.jpg)
Appointed: 17 September 2009
Appointment Expires: 16 September 2013
Melissa de Zwart is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of South Australia. She has a PhD in law (which examined the law of fair dealing) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). Melissa has practised as a lawyer in both private practice and government, having been Legal Manager at CSIRO. She has published numerous articles on legal and social issues affecting copyright, particularly in the digital and popular culture context, convergence technologies, social networking and virtual worlds. In 2008 she contributed to the ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency) Virtual Group of Experts on Security Issues in Virtual Worlds and Gaming (EU).
As the mother of two small children, Melissa has served as the president of a community childcare centre and has a keen interest in children’s entertainment as both a parent and consumer. In her recreational time, she enjoys books, manga, movies and computer games, and exchanging views on these with her students, extended family and friends both face-to-face and via social networking. Melissa lives in Adelaide
Jane Smith
Appointed: 7 December 2011
Appointment Expires: 6 December 2014
Jane Smith, 55, lives in Coogee, New South Wales. She is currently the Director of The shinyshinyworld Pty Ltd, an organisation providing strategic advice on a range of communications issues and creating artwork and projects that express concern for the environment and human interaction. Jane’s previous positions include senior roles with the ABC from 1990 to 1997, Chief Executive Officer with the NSW Film and Television Office from 1997 to 2006 and Vice President of Seed Productions, a film production company in 2007. Jane was the inaugural Head of the Centre for Screenwriting at the Australian Film Television and Radio School 2009-10.
Jane is currently Chair of the Committee for Revision of Mobile Premium Services (MPS) Codes and a member of the Digital Media Thought Leadership Group for the Australian Centre for Broadband Innovation. She has also represented on a number of other Boards including Ausfilm, Screen Finance Group, the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and the Broadcasting Council. Jane holds a Bachelor of Arts (Flinders) majoring in psychology and history and a Post Graduate Diploma in Criminology (Melb). She is actively involved in the community through her extensive career in both the public and private sectors as well as her involvement in the arts and film community.
Peter Attard
Appointed: 7 December 2011
Appointment Expires: 6 December 2014
Peter Attard, 43, lives on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. He is the Director of Sound 4 Your Space Pty Ltd, a company that designs and supplies in-store music solutions to businesses and industries throughout Australia. He has created and taught Media, Visual Literacy, Visual Arts and Photography curriculum in both Secondary and TAFE education, as well as serving as Co-ordinator of these studies at various colleges in Victoria. Peter has been a committee member of the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM), judged ATOM student film awards and is a member of the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Education (Visual Arts) from the University of Melbourne. He is the father of three teenage children, is a regular user of social media and is actively involved in his local community through his children’s school and sporting commitments as well as through his work as director of his own company.