Brian Attard

Brian is a proud Kamilaroi man and an experienced social justice lawyer and Pro Bono Counsel with more than two decades’ experience across government, the community legal sector and public interest practice. He advises on strategic pro bono initiatives and access to justice matters, with a particular focus on First Nations peoples, older persons and culturally diverse communities.

Brian combines frontline legal expertise with extensive experience in policy development, stakeholder engagement and multidisciplinary collaboration. He has worked across a range of legal, regulatory and community service environments, supporting both individual clients and broader systemic reform initiatives.

His professional contributions have been recognised through awards including First Nations Lawyer of the Year and an Australia Day Award for Public Service Excellence.

Experience

Brian advises on a broad range of pro bono, access to justice and public interest matters, including legal assistance delivery, law reform initiatives, governance and stakeholder engagement. He has extensive experience working across government and community legal organisations and is recognised for building collaborative responses to complex legal and social issues.

Brian has established outreach and health justice partnership programs, supervised pro bono practitioners and worked closely with legal, health and community organisations to improve access to justice for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

Brian’s areas of expertise include:

• pro bono strategy and access to justice initiatives
• First Nations legal issues and stakeholder engagement
• law reform, policy development and regulatory advisory
• governance, risk and compliance
• multidisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration.

Career highlights

Brian’s career highlights include:

• establishing the Federal Self-Represented Litigants Service at the Federal Court of Australia while Principal of Justice Connect’s Federal Self-Representative Team
• establishing a Health Justice Partnership with the Darlanginj Aboriginal Oral Health Clinic while at Redfern Legal Centre
• advising on complex legislative reform and regulatory matters within the Department of Health and Ageing, including aged care and private health insurance frameworks
• supporting Indigenous health governance and national program delivery within the NSW Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
• providing judicial research support and legal analysis as Indigenous Research Associate at the Federal Court of Australia
• advising on environmental and regulatory compliance matters at the Environment Protection Authority
• advising on legal and policy matters within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade relating to government operations and procurement processes
• supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth engaged in the Youth Koori Court program within the Children’s Court of New South Wales.