University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia’s newest major university in a generation.

The University of Notre Dame Australia was founded through an Act of the Parliament of Western Australia in December 1989.  Since its inception, Notre Dame has become a leader in higher education and now boasts over 11,000 students enrolled across its three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.

Notre Dame is an Australian university which has embraced both the modern Australian university tradition and the ancient and esteemed traditions of Catholic universities  both in Europe and North America.

It has sought to be a university which specialises in excellence of undergraduate education. Its focus is the education and training of young people for entry to the major professions: medicine, law, teaching, nursing, accounting and finance, physiotherapy, counselling, health sciences and the priesthood.

The University is especially noteworthy for its role as a leader in the great traditional professional disciplines of Health and Education, so long associated with the mission of the Church in Australia. It has also assumed a special role in the education of, and service to, the indigenous people of northern Australia.

Governance at the University of Notre Dame

Our governance arrangements are specified within establishment legislation, the University of Notre Dame Australia Act 1989 as well as the University Statutes. These, together with the Canonical Statutes, detail the source, role and functions of its Trustees, Directors and Governors and of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal Officers of Notre Dame and its mission as a Catholic University. We are dedicated to creating a positive impact and maintaining high academic standards through strong internal policies and leadership.

The Hon. Chris Ellison

Chancellor of The University of Notre Dame Australia

A former Cabinet Minister in the Howard Government, the Honourable Chris Ellison represented Western Australia in the Senate from July 1993 to January 2009.

After graduating with a Law degree from the University of Western Australia, Mr Ellison spent two years as a lawyer with the Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia. He practised as a barrister and solicitor and was a partner in his own law firm, Williams Ellison between 1980 and 1993.

After his election in 1993 in Opposition he chaired the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee from 1993 to 1996 and was involved in a number of Senate committees. In 1997, he entered the Howard ministry as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Family Services and to the Attorney-General. He was promoted to Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Attorney-General (1997), then Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training (1997-1998), and Special Minister of State (1998-2001). He was Minister for Justice and Customs between January 2001 and March 2007. From March 2007 until the defeat of the Howard Government in the 2007 election, Mr Ellison was a member of Cabinet as Minister for Human Services, overseeing the service delivery of Government agencies including Centrelink, Medicare and the Child Support Agency. Mr Ellison remains Australia’s longest serving Minister for Justice. Whilst in the Ministry he was Manager of Government Business in the Senate.

In 2007 in Opposition, he held the offices of Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, along with Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate from December 2007 to September 2008. In addition, Senator Ellison was the Chair of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.

Since leaving the Senate in 2009 he has been on the Board of Doric Construction (2011-2017) and was a Director of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation from 2014 to 2023. He was also Chair of Australia’s Northwest Tourism (2010-2015) and Chair of Academic Board West for Study Group Australia (2010-2017).

He was formerly Chair of the Trinity College Board and is a Trustee of the JA Kelly Scholarship Foundation at the School. Mr Ellison still holds a current legal practising certificate, resides in Perth, and is married to Caroline with two sons and a daughter.

The Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors

The Board of Trustees are the “custodians of the University” [s.8 of the University of Notre Dame Australia Act 1989 (WA)] responsible for ensuring that the University meets its Objects:

  • The provision of university education within a context of Catholic faith and values; and

  • The provision of an excellent standard of:

    1. Teaching, scholarship and research;

    2. Training for the professions; and

    3. Pastoral care for its students.

The Board of Directors is the “governing body” of the University.

The Board of Trustees | Membership

The Board of Trustees is responsible for protecting and preserving the Catholic Objects and nature of the University; for electing the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor; and for appointing the Directors and Governors.

Subject to the Act, the Canonical Proclamation and Statutes, the Board of Trustees' responsibilities include: protecting and preserving the Catholic objects and nature of the University; appointing members of the Board of Directors and Board of Governors and determining the terms and conditions of appointment of the Vice Chancellor.

Members of the Board of Trustees

  • Chancellor: The Hon. Chris Ellison

  • Vice-Chancellor: Professor Francis Campbell

  • Ms Rebecca Davis (Director: Defence Health Ltd, Catholic Healthcare Ltd, Medtech Actuator, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Transparency International Australia and National Heart Foundation)

  • Mr Michael Digges (Business Manager, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney)

  • Sr Susanna Edmunds, OP (Trinity Catholic College, University of Sydney Catholic Chaplaincy, Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Homebush)

  • Mr Tony Howarth (Chair, Alinta Energy Pty Ltd and BWP Trust)

  • Professor Michael L’Estrange AO (Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom)

  • Mr Daniel Lynch (Executive Director, Office of the Archbishop (Perth))

  • Hon. Justice Robert Mazza (Judge, Supreme Court of Western Australia)

  • Ms Anne Pitos (Former Principal, Iona Presentation College)

The Board of Directors | Membership

The Board of Directors is the “governing body” of the University.

The governing body is subject to the provisions of the Act and the role of the Trustees, and has control over management of the affairs and concerns of the University.

The Board of Directors’ Governance Statement sets out governance mechanisms adopted by the Board to ensure its efficient and effective operation.

Members of the Board of Directors

  • Chancellor: The Hon. Chris Ellison

  • Vice-Chancellor: Professor Francis Campbell

  • Mr Jack de Groot

  • Mr Richard Haddock AO

  • Professor Sandra Harding AO

  • Ms Hilary Johnston-Croke

  • Ms Rebbecca Kerr

  • Professor Michael L’Estrange AO

  • Mr John Prendiville

  • Mr Andrew Whitechurch

Board of Directors Sub-Committees

Other governing bodies within the university include: