John has served as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal for six years. A former Family Court and District Court Judge, he has a strong interest in education, particularly in decision-writing workshops, as well as in creative and academic writing. He has recently led judicial training programmes across the Pacific.
John is also an accomplished writer, with a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and a PhD in English Literature. A published poet, he continues to write songs and play music with friends. Raised near Matamata, John came to the law without family connections to the profession—his father was a builder and his mother a school teacher. He values the collaborative nature of tribunal work and the shared responsibility of panel decision-making.
Gregor Allan, Chair of the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
Gregor Allan is a barrister who practices with chambers in Wellington and Tauranga, principally in the fields of public and criminal law. Gregor spent much of his early litigation career running jury trials as a Crown Prosecutor and as Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions for Fiji, where he prosecuted treason and mutiny related cases arising from the Speight coup of 2000. He has practiced mental health law in Canada, held senior academic positions in Australia, managed the International Criminal Law team within the Ministry of Justice and acted as Crown Counsel at Crown Law and General Counsel for the GCSB. As a barrister, Gregor has taken on a number of significant cases in the fields of national security, national defence and public health and has acted for the Crown in contentious Waitangi Tribunal matters and in a range of notable public inquiries.
Professor Kate Diesfeld, JD
Kate advocated with disabled people in Alaska, California and England. She is a member of the California State Bar. She held academic roles at Kent School Law School (England), the University of Waikato and Auckland University of Technology. In England, she represented people before the Mental Health Review Tribunal. She co-edited Involuntary Detention and Therapeutic Jurisprudence (2003) with Professor Freckelton and Elder Law in New Zealand (2014). She is an Associate Editor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Fellow of the American College of Legal Medicine and Convenor of The Law Association’s Mental Health and Disability Committee. At Aotearoa Disability Law, she is an Advisory Committee member. With disabled people, she recently researched policing, assisted dying services and supported decision-making strategies. She is a Co-Principal Investigator on the Marsden Fund study “A rehabilitation model for professional discipline”.
Professor Ian Freckelton, AO KC
Ian is a King’s Counsel in full time practice as a barrister throughout Australia. He took silk in 2007. His practice is trial, appellate and advisory. He has been listed by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers for many years as one of Australia’s leading barristers in Administrative Law, Government Law, and Personal Injury Law, as well as in Criminal Law. From 2010 he has been a member of Victoria’s Coronial Council, and he is the winner of various pro bono awards.
Since 2017 Ian has also been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru, and he has been a part-time member of 11 decision-making tribunals at both Commonwealth and State level in Australia, currently including the Australian Administrative Review Tribunal. He has been a member of disciplinary tribunals that have heard regulatory matters in relation to medical practitioners, psychologists, out-of-home carers, teachers and veterinary practitioners. He has also written extensively in relation to regulation and discipline of professionals.
Ian is also a Professor of Law and Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, and an Honorary Professor of Forensic Medicine at Monash University, as well as being an Adjunct Professor at AUT, QUT, Southern Cross University and La Trobe University. He is the Editor of the Journal of Law and Medicine and the Founding Editor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. Ian is an elected Fellow of three of Australia’s learned Academies: The Academies of Law; Health and Medical Sciences; and Social Sciences and is an Honorary Fellow of the Australasian College of Legal Medicine, and a committee member of the Medico-Legal Society of Victoria. He has also been a Commissioner at the Victorian Law Reform Commission and led its reference on medicinal cannabis. Ian is the author of over 800 articles and chapters of books, as well as more than 50 books, including the 8th edition of Expert Evidence: Law, Practice Procedure & Advocacy which is currently entering press. He has given more than 850 professional presentations in more than 50 countries.
In 2021 Ian was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the law and the legal profession, across fields including health, science and technology, and in 2024 he was awarded its highest Honours by the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, the Prix Philippe Pinel.
Olivia Kelly
Olivia is an academic and practising lawyer. In her previous role at Aotearoa Disability Law, she advocated for people with disabilities. Olivia is a senior lecturer at AUT in the School of Community and Public Health. She teaches health law, advocacy and dispute resolution courses to students entering clinical and non-clinical health settings. In her private legal practice, she continues to work with people with disabilities in her appointments as Counsel for the Subject Person in PPPR proceedings. Her research interests include disability, capacity, medico-legal rights, digital harm within health, and professional practice.
Dr. Kate Kersey, PhD
Kate is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Addiction Research in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland. Her research explores the meanings and experiences of alcohol consumption in the contexts of people’s daily lives and broader gendered, social, economic, and cultural environments, to inform appropriate cohort specific policy responses. Kate also has a keen interest in professional discipline and experience in health policy, law and regulation. Kate has a BCom/LLb (Hons) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand; an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, US; and a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Tim Mackenzie, Barrister
Tim is a barrister and member of Canterbury Chambers, in Christchurch. Tim has practiced litigation for 22 years, across a range of areas including civil, criminal, employment and professional discipline. As a lawyer Tim has brought and defended cases before a number of professional disciplinary tribunals and has acted in associated appeal and review litigation in the courts. Tim currently sits as a Member of the Lawyers & Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal and as a Deputy-Chair of the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.
Katie Rusbatch, CEO New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa
Ms Rusbatch was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa in December 2022. Previously she was the Law Society’s General Manager Professional Standards (Regulatory) and oversaw regulatory work, including the Lawyers Complaints Service, Registry and Inspectorate. Since becoming Chief Executive, Ms Rusbatch has overseen the completion of the Independent Review of the statutory framework for legal services in Aotearoa New Zealand, and work to ensure the sustainability of the Law Society’s nationwide services for members. She regularly contributes to international forums for legal regulators. Before joining the Law Society, Katie was Head of Competition at the Commerce Commission where she led the cartel, merger and abuse of market power investigation teams. Ms Rusbatch started her legal career in New Zealand before working in the United Kingdom and Singapore.She has an LLB(Hons), BA in Economics and Political Science and Postgraduate Certificate in Antarctic Studies from the University of Canterbury. Katie also has a Post Graduate Diploma in European Competition Law and an MA in European Competition Law from King’s College London. Katie is also admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.
Associate Professor Marta Rychert, PhD
Marta is an Associate Professor at the College of Health, Massey University and the Associate Investigator on the Marsden grant. Her research focuses on drug markets and drug policy, as well as professional misconduct and regulation. She has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles, including analyses of disciplinary tribunal decisions involving teachers, lawyers, and health practitioners in New Zealand. Her research has been funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Royal Society Te Apārangi, and the European Union Drugs Agency. She is a Rutherford Discovery Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Drugs, Habits and Social Policy.
Professor Lois Surgenor, PhD
Lois is a Professor in Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch and the Health Sciences Divisional Associate Dean (Academic). She previously chaired a NZ regulatory authority (NZ Psychologists Board, 2002-2011) and the collective 16 health regulatory authorities (HRANZ 2010-13). She has researched disciplinary and health rehabilitation for 18 years. As a clinical psychologist, she has chaired many PCCs and supervised disciplined practitioners who have been subject to supervision/educative penalties. Lois is the Co-Principal Investigator (with Professor Kate Diesfeld) and Coinvestigator Associate Professor Marta Rychert (Massey University) of a Royal Society of NZ Marsden Fund focusing on professional misconduct rehabilitation.