Her Honour Helen Syme was appointed by Governor in Council as Chairperson of the Adult Parole Board from 16 April 2025.
Her Honour’s legal career has included over 35 years as a judicial officer in three states and diverse jurisdictions, including:
- Western Australia (WA) – appointed a Magistrate at the WA Children’s Court from 1987 and later the WA Family Court
- New South Wales (NSW) – appointed the NSW Deputy Chief Magistrate in 2000 and then a Judge of the District Court of NSW from 2009 until her retirement in 2021
- Victoria – appointed a Reserve Judge of the County Court of Victoria from 2022 to 2024.
Her Honour was appointed as a sessional member of the Post Sentence Authority in 2024 and temporarily acted as its Deputy Chairperson. She resigned from the Post Sentence Authority upon her appointment as Chairperson of the Adult Parole Board.
Her Honour chaired the NSW Institute of Psychiatry and was instrumental in the implementation of systemic changes at several levels of the judicial branch to improve efficiency, accountability, and access to justice and improve on justice processes and rehabilitation of offenders.
