Experienced Tribunal Member and solicitor Theresa Simon has been appointed as the new Deputy President and Head of the Consumer and Commercial Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).
With more than 20 years working in the legal sector, including the past decade at NCAT, Ms Simon is committed to helping clients resolve a range of disputes, including residential tenancy, consumer, home building and strata disputes.
Ms Simon is currently a Principal Member of NCAT and has dealt with many complex and significant legal cases, including high profile matters. In recent years, she has also been actively involved with the Council of Australasian Tribunals and chaired the organising committee for the 2023 national conference.
Completing a Bachelor of Arts/Diploma of Education in 2000, Ms Simon started her career as a high school teacher in Western Sydney and later lectured at Western Sydney University after finishing a law degree. In 2011 she worked with Legal Aid NSW as a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner assisting parties from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Prior to joining NCAT in 2014, Ms Simon was a full-time member of the NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and was also a legal practitioner in Western Sydney for almost 10 years. She established the NSW Home Building Advocacy Service which assisted consumers with home building disputes at Macquarie Legal Centre.
Ms Simon will start in her new role on 9 September 2024.
Attorney General Michael Daley said:
"I am confident Theresa Simon's experience brings strong leadership for NCAT's Consumer and Commercial Division (CCD).
"The CCD is one of NCAT's busiest functions and Ms Simon's dedication to fairness and expertise in dispute resolution will continue to be invaluable to the division and everyone who interacts with it.
"I would like to thank Mark Harrowell for his outstanding service in the role over the past five years."
