The Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC FAA FAAL
Chancellor of Bond University
The Honorable Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC was formally elected as Bond University’s 8th Chancellor on 19 April 2016, and re-elected 19 May 2020 for a further term.
Dr Bennett retired as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in March 2016 after a distinguished career in the law.
She initially graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science Degree and subsequently completed a PhD in Cell Biology.
In 1980 she changed career track to follow a life-long interest in the law and completed an LLB at the University of New South Wales.
Dr Bennett was admitted to practice in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory, and developed expertise in intellectual property, administrative law and professional misconduct.
In 1994 Dr Bennett was appointed Senior Counsel in New South Wales and was appointed to a series of prominent roles, including the Takeovers Panel, NSW Bar Association Mediators’ Panel and the Supreme Court of New South Wales Mediators’ Panel. She also served as an Acting Judge of the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
In addition to her Federal Court appointment, Dr Bennett has served as the President of the Copyright Tribunal of Australia, Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (currently serving), Presidential Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the ACT.
Her experience in Science has included serving on the Pharmacy Board of NSW, as a former President of the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences 2003-05, as a Member of the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee, a Member of the Biotechnology Consultative Group (BIOCOG) to the Commonwealth Government, as a Member-Vaccine Working Group of Australian National Council on AIDS, the Advisory Committee of the Australian Law Reform Commission on the Gene Patenting & Human Health Reference, and most significantly as the Chairman of the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Dr Bennett has also had a strong background in higher education. In 1998, she joined the Council of the Australian National University and served for over a decade as Pro Chancellor of the ANU. Further, Dr Bennett currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Law of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which provides additional insight into trends and developments in global education.
Dr Bennett’s strong commitment to the community is evidenced by her service to various non-profit organisations including positions as a Trustee of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, Director of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation (formerly the Prince of Wales Children’s Hospital Foundation), Member of the Board of the Eastern Sydney Area Health Service, Director of the Management Committee of Westmead Research Institute and Member of the Board of the United Dental Hospital Sydney.
In 2005 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the law, particularly in the areas of intellectual property, administrative law and professional conduct; and to the community. In 2019 she was promoted to Companion Of the Order of Australia (AC).
Other current directorships include Non-executive Director of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Chair of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Chair of the Gardior Group of Companies
University Profile
Bond University is Australia’s first private, not-for-profit University, offering a personalised academic environment that enables graduates to exceed the outer limits of their potential – in their career and in life.
Created in the scholarly traditions of pre-eminent private universities of world standing, Bond University challenges students to be leaders and thinkers; taking them beyond the accepted definition of a university education to develop initiative, enterprise, ambition and a lifelong commitment to making a meaningful contribution to their field.
Bond offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Law, Business, Communication and Creative Media, Architecture and Built Environment and Health Sciences & Medicine. All students have access to unparalleled academic and technological resources on Bond’s world-class Gold Coast campus.
Bond’s personalised approach to education combined with its uncompromising focus on industry relevance sets Bond University apart from every other Australian university.
Students thrive in smaller study groups where eminent professors and industry-experienced lecturers know them by name.
Students have open access to industry leaders, corporate high-flyers and notable achievers who actively participate in Bond’s guest speaker programs. Students are given the opportunity to study overseas through established partnerships with some of the world’s leading universities and research facilities.
And by undertaking three semesters per year instead of the usual two, students complete their degree studies twelve months or more before their colleagues from other universities, thereby gaining a vital advantage in the ultra-competitive careers market.
This advantage is further driven by graduates themselves. Many within Bond University’s close-knit global network of alumni now hold upper echelon management and partnership positions in blue-chip organisations around the world and maintain that their Bond experience was a key factor in fast-tracking their careers.
Ultimately, the results speak for themselves. For the sixteenth year in a row, Bond University has received more 5-star ratings for Student Experience than any other university in Australia in the latest edition of 2022 The Good Universities Guide.
The independent consumer guide rated Bond University 5 stars across all six Student Experience measures – Overall, Teaching Quality, Learner Engagement, Learning Resources, Student Support and Skills Development – as well as 5 stars for Student: Staff Ratio and Student Retention.
Third party research also shows that employers know Bond graduates are better prepared for the workplace than any other university graduates.
At Bond University, we believe that potential becomes limitless when you combine ambition with opportunity. In fact, we not only share your ambition, we bring it to life.
To find out more, visit the Bond University website www.bond.edu.au
Governance
Bond University Council
Council is responsible to the University’s stakeholders and the broader community to ensure that the University is managed prudently, efficiently and in compliance with all relevant regulation with a view to ensuring the institution’s sustainability over time. Council leads the University community of students, staff and others to meet and advance the University’s goals and objectives.
Councillors, individually and collectively, represent the University externally to further the University’s interest when they are operating in their role as a member of Council. The responsibility of each member of the Council is to the University as a whole, not to any sectional interest group.
Membership of Bond University’s Council is as follows:
Appointed Members – Council
Professor Tim Brailsford – Vice-Chancellor
Elected Members
The Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC – Chancellor
Mr David Baxby
Mr Derek Cronin
Dr Manny Pohl AM
Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM
Ms Lisa MacCallum
Professor Daryl Le Grew AO
Ms Marion Charlton
Ms Kate Vidgen
Other Governing Bodies
Other Governing bodies within the University include:
Audit, Risk and Safety Committee
Chair – Dr Manny Pohl AM
Nominations Advisory Committee
Chair – The Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC, Chancellor
Honorary Awards Committee
Chair – The Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett AC SC, Chancellor