Board
The Board is chaired by an Independent Director and contains a balanced mix of Directors with industry and consumer experience, an Independent Director with not-for-profit governance experience and Independent Director with commercial governance experience. The Board has adopted a charter that set out its roles and responsibilities.
For TIO governance-related matters, the TIO Board can be contacted via email. The Company Secretary monitors messages sent to this address. Please note that the TIO Board does not have a role in handling complaints under the TIO scheme. It is the responsibility of the Ombudsman to deal with complaints submitted via the different channels listed on our complaints page.
Independent Chair
Professor The Hon. Michael Lavarch - AO, LLB
Michael has held senior roles in government, including serving as Australia’s Attorney-General (1993-1996). He has also held the roles of Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia and Commissioner for the Australian Skills Quality Authority. He is an Emeritus Professor of Law at the Queensland University of Technology and Chief Adjudicator on the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code adjudication panel. Michael is Chair of Way Forward Debt Solutions and Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited. He is also a Member of the Queensland Treaty Independent Interim Body. In 2012, Michael was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to law, education and human rights.
Director with Industry Experience
Mira Bashi - BBM (Marketing) & GAICD
Mira is the Customer Experience Executive for Telstra Corporation Limited. Mira has worked in the telecommunications industry for over 25 years, across several major international brands, with experience in product management, development, designing and improving end to end customer experiences.
Director with Consumer Experience
Dana Beiglari - BInSt, LLB (Hons I)
Dana is the manager of Legal Aid NSW's Consumer Law practice group. As a social justice lawyer, she helps the most vulnerable people in NSW access their consumer protection rights in credit, insurance and general consumer protection matters. Dana currently represents Legal Aid NSW on forums including the Australian Securities & Investments Commission's Consumer Advisory Panel, and the Australian Law Council's Consumer Law Committee.
Director with Not-For-Profit Governance Experience
Julie Hamblin - BA LLB (Hons) (Syd), LLM (McGill), FAICD
Julie has more than 25 years’ experience as a lawyer and policy consultant in the health, disability and not-for-profit sectors, specialising in governance and risk. She currently chairs the Boards of AVI and Maluk Timor Australia and is an independent Board member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Previous Board roles have included Chair of Autism Spectrum Australia, Deputy Chair of Plan International Australia and Deputy Chair of the Australian Research Integrity Committee. She has a particular interest in global health and governance having worked with the United Nations Development Programme and other organisations on projects relating to public health and HIV/AIDS in more than 20 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Director with Industry Experience
Maha Krishnapillai - BSc Mathematics & GAICD
Maha has had a career-long history promoting competition and the benefits of technology to deliver better results for all consumers in the telecommunications industry. This has been over 30 years, firstly as a Government regulator, then via a new entrant (Macquarie Telecom) and then to drive competition through the NBN campaign at Optus.
Independent Director with Commercial Governance Experience
Geoff Nicholson - BEc, MBA, FCA, GAICD, CSEP
Geoff is a Trustee of the R E Ross Trust and Chair of its subsidiary Hillview Quarries Pty Ltd. He is a consultant to Endeavour Energy, New South Wales, as well as being Chair of Endeavour Energy’s Audit and Risk Committee. Geoff’s former positions include Chairman of Hanover Welfare Services, non-executive director of United Energy, Athletics Australia, Launch Housing, Sensis, KAZ Computing and Marchment Hill Consulting, Chief Financial Officer at AusNet Services and Executive Director, Finance at Telstra Corporation Limited. He was also Foxtel's first Chief Financial Officer.
Director with Consumer Experience
Gordon Renouf - BA, LLB
Gordon is Deputy Chair of the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's Consumer Consultative Panel, and a Board Member of Textile Exchange. He is CEO and co-founder of Good On You Pty Ltd and has been a consumer advocate for more than 30 years in roles at CHOICE, the North Australian Aboriginal Legal Service and as Deputy Chair of Justice Connect. Gordon recently completed nine years as a member of the Banking Code Compliance Committee.
Director with Industry Experience
Andrew Sheridan - CA, MA (Hons)
Andrew is the Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs for Optus with responsibility for managing Optus’ relationship with key external stakeholders from the Government, Regulatory bodies such as the ACCC and ACMA and the media. The group also develops Optus’ position on industry structural issues, competition, and compliance policies.
Director with Consumer Experience
Gerard Brody - BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), MPPM, GAICD
Gerard is a consumer advocate, having worked as a lawyer, policy officer, and advocate for 20 years. Gerard was the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, a leading consumer advocacy organisation that provides legal assistance and financial counselling, for ten years until February 2023. Gerard is also a board director of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and was a board director of the Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria from 2014 to 2023. Gerard is chair of Community Legal Centres Australia, the peak body for community legal centres nationally and also the Chair of Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, representing a diverse range of consumer groups, including most national consumer organisations.