The Hon Dr Tricia Kavanagh

The Hon Dr Tricia Kavanagh is a former Justice of the NSW Industrial Court and Deputy President of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission with a background in legal practice and education and child care.

Dr Kavanagh began her working life as a primary school teacher; first in Sydney then in a country town. After travels, she helped draft a child care policy for working women that was adopted by the Whitlam government. Dr Kavanagh was appointed as a Commissioner on the Commonwealth Interim Children’s Commission.

Following that, Dr Kavanagh returned to work as an Advocate for the SDA, then the AWU while studying Law part time at UTS.

Dr Kavanagh practised as a barrister for 17 years in the areas of industrial law, common law and workers compensation law and across all jurisdictions: High Court, NSW Supreme Court, District Court and commissions.

In 1998, Dr Kavanagh was appointed a Justice of the NSW Industrial Court and Deputy President of the NSW Industrial Commission where she served for 14 years dealing, in conciliation or by arbitration, with employment disputes and awards, unfair contracts, dismissals and OHS prosecutions. 

Since 1994, Dr Kavanagh has been an Arbitrator on the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing disputes in Olympic sports and for major sports’ organisations.  

Presently, Dr Kavanagh is a Governor of The University of Notre Dame Australia and a board member of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.