About AIFLAM
AIFLAM is the peak industry body representing family law mediators and arbitrators in Australia. AIFLAM works closely with the Courts and Government as a spokesperson for mediator and arbitrator interests, and advocates for its members as being ready, trained and able to provide options for alternative dispute resolution in the family law jurisdiction.
In accordance with our Constitution, the AIFLAM Board consists of a representative from each State in Australia, nominees of the Family Law Section, nominees of the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia and the Attorney-General's Department.
Following the AGM held on 27 October 2023, the AIFLAM Board consists of:
Foley's List
205 William Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
P: 03 9225 7777
E: eswart@vicbar.com.au
Emma Swart
Chair
VIC Representative
Emma Swart was admitted to practice as a lawyer in 1986 and qualified as a mediator in 1995. She has been a barrister since 1998, practicing in family law parenting, property and related debt matters as a member of Foley’s List at the Victorian Bar.
She is a nationally accredited mediator, a family law arbitrator and registered family dispute resolution practitioner.
She has completed advanced training in general mediation, transformative mediation and mentalising in mediation. She assists in coaching and assessing for AIFLAM's mediation training.
FLB Chambers
Level 10, Quay Central
95 North Quay
Brisbane QLD 4000
T: 07 3517 7906
E: colin@colinforrest.com.au
W: www.colinforrest.com.au
The Hon Colin Forrest SC
Deputy Chair
QLD Representative
Colin has spent thirty-six years working as a family lawyer. He spent two years as a solicitor, twenty-one years as a barrister, ten years as a trial judge of the Family Court of Australia and has now been back in practice at the Bar for three years, with chambers in Brisbane and Sydney. He works principally in alternative dispute resolution, conducting and appearing for clients in mediations and arbitrations throughout Australia. Colin also provides advice to solicitors and clients as required.
Colin is a Sessional Judicial member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal having also previously served on the Commonwealth’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, and the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. Colin also served as Queensland’s Public Interest Monitor for several years, monitoring and responding to Police applications for covert surveillance and telephone interception warrants.
Colin served as President of the Family Law Practitioners’ Association of Queensland after being a Board member for several years. He was the Queensland Bar’s nominated representative on the Queensland Law Society’s Family Law Specialist Accreditation Committee. Colin is a member of the Council of the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Institute of International Affairs and is studying part-time towards a Master’s Degree in International Relations at the University of Queensland.
Rafton Family Lawyers
PO Box 502
Richmond NSW 2753
T: 02 4578 5611
E: maurice@rafton.com.au
W: www.rafton.com.au
Maurice Edwards
Treasurer
NSW Representative
Maurice is an Accredited Family Law Specialist (NSW Law Society), a Registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (Attorney General’s Dept.), a Nationally Accredited Mediator (NMAS) an Accredited Family Law Arbitrator (AIFLAM) and a trained Collaborative Family Lawyer. He is special counsel at Rafton Family Lawyers and is the team leader of RAMP, the Rafton Arbitration and Mediation Practice.
Maurice has been working in the family law space for over 40 years, approximately 5 years in Orange in the Central West of NSW and for the last 35 years in Sydney, predominantly as a lawyer but more recently as a mediator and arbitrator. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and a member of the Family Law, Mediation and Arbitration Committees of the International Bar Association.
Maurice has trained specifically in the mediation of child abduction matters with judges,
lawyers and social scientists from both Australia and Japan and is a recommended mediator
on the Doyles Guide of Leading Mediators in NSW. He has presented many papers on both
family law mediation and arbitration at seminars and conferences over the last 10-15 years
Parker Coles Curtis Lawyers
Level 9, AMP Building
1 Hobart Place
Canberra ACT 2601
T: 02 5114 2660
E: dparker@parkercolescurtis.com.au
W: www.parkercolescurtis.com.au
Debra Parker
ACT Representative
Debra Parker is the Founding Director of Parker Coles Curtis. Debra is a specialist family lawyer and the only lawyer in Canberra with Specialist Accreditation in two areas (family law and dispute resolution). She is a qualified arbitrator and collaborative divorce lawyer.
Debra is a member of the prestigious international Academy of Family Lawyers. She currently chairs the ACT Law Society’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and sits on the International Law Committee. Debra is an expert on all areas of family law including matters such as surrogacy, adoption and child abduction and served a 10-year appointment as a Registrar of the Family Law Courts. Debra made the Australasian Law exclusive list of top 50 ‘Elite Women’ and is listed by Doyles as ‘Preeminent’ family lawyer & ‘Leading’ Mediator.
Darwin Family Law
Level 3, 9 Cavenagh Street
Darwin NT 0801
T: 08 8946 1666 E: Tessa@darwinfamilylaw.com.au W: darwinfamilylaw.com.au
Tessa Czislowski
NT Representative
Tessa was admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 2011 and has been practising exclusively as a family lawyer for 13 years. She is a Partner at Darwin Family Law, where her focus is on assisting clients to navigate the family law system to achieve the best possible outcome for their family.
Tessa has been a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner since 2019 and has completed her mediation training through AIFLAM to become a Nationally Accredited Mediator.
In addition to working in private practice, Tessa is a Commissioner for Legal Aid NT and sits on the Law Society NT’s Family Law Committee.
82-84 Melbourne Street
North Adelaide SA 5006
P: 08 7228 6110
E: chanel@resolvedivorce.com.au
W: resolvedivorce.com.au
Chanel Martin
SA Representative
Chanel
Martin is a Partner at Resolve Divorce, and an Accredited Specialist in Family
Law. She graduated from Flinders University in 2014 and since that time has
practiced exclusively in family law, including spending time as a Legal
Associate with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Chanel has
completed a Masters in Law (Family Law) and is Collaboratively trained, having
conducted her training both in Australia and internationally.
Chanel leads a team of 10 family lawyers at Resolve Divorce, and her practice spans both financial and parenting matters. Chanel is a member of the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals and the South Australian Liaison. She was a member of the organising committee for the Adelaide National Family Law Conference and has contributed to presentations made by the Family Law Section at recent conferences.
Dobson Mitchell Allport
59 Harrington Street
Hobart TAS 7000
E: david.harper@doma.com.au W: doma.com.au
David Harper
TAS Representative
David Harper was admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2003. He is a Principal and Head of Family & Relationships Law at Dobson Mitchell Allport in Hobart, Tasmania. David has practised exclusively in the area of family & relationships law for over 20 years; representing clients in financial, parenting and child support related matters.
David was admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales in 2009 and spent almost a decade working in London and in the offshore jurisdiction of Jersey in the Channel Islands. David predominantly worked in private practice, however also spent a period of time working as a Child Protection lawyer in local government. As a result of his international experience, David has a keen interest in cross border family law disputes. Before returning to Hobart in 2018, David spent several years working in a top tier Melbourne family law practice.
David is a member of the Law Society of Tasmania’s Family Law Committee. He is collaboratively trained and is a Nationally Accredited Mediator. David is passionate about mediation as an effective vehicle for resolving disputes that arise when relationships break down.
Kaeser Mediated Solutions
2 Gemstone Boulevard Carine WA 6020
P: 02 8268 8700
E: colin@kaesermediation.com.au W: kaesermediation.com.au
Colin Kaeser
WA Representative
Colin has an Honours degree in Psychology. He was admitted to law in 1994. He studied mediation in 2000 and completed advanced training in 2004. He conducted many conciliation and pre-trial conferences at the Family Court of Western Australia.
He was a Registrar of that court from 2005 to 2022, and a Family Law
Magistrate from 2010 to 2022. He is a nationally accredited mediator and
arbitrator.
Broun Abrahams Burreket
Level 23,66 Goulburn Street
Sydney NSW 2000
P: 02 8268 8700
E: jburreket@bablaw.com.au
W: bablaw.com.au
Jamie Burreket
FLS Nominee
Jamie is the Managing Director of Broun Abrahams Burreket Family Lawyers, one of Sydney’s largest boutique Family Law firms. He is an accredited specialist in Family Law in NSW and has consistently been ranked by his peers in the Doyle’s Guide as Preeminent both Nationally and in New South Wales.
Jamie’s practice, like most Family Lawyers, spans both financial and parenting matters but he has developed a specialty in the more complex issues that arise like challenges to Binding Financial Agreements, jurisdictional choices, opposition to single expert evidence, claims in equity and the intersection of tax planning and property settlements.
He is a member of the Family Law Issues Committee of the NSW Law Society, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals and the International Academy of Family Lawyers. Jamie regularly speaks at state and national conferences and has presented overseas on complex Family Law issues to other Family Law experts. He authors articles and presentations in Family Law annually. He was a member of the organising committee for Sydney’s National Family Law Section Conference and has contributed to submissions made by the Family Law Section on law reform in recent years.
Level 19, 107 North Quay
P: 07 3236 3369
E: philiplooney@qldbar.asn.au
W: 19innschambers.com
Philip Looney KC
FLS Nominee
Philip was first called to the Bar in 1996 and took silk in 2012. He has had a diverse practice spanning Family Law, Tax and Commercial litigation. His current focus is on Family Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Philip has been recognised as a leading Queensland Senior Counsel in Doyle’s Guide in Family Law since 2015.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Philip had a 14-year career as a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience both in Australia and overseas. He practiced mainly in the insolvency, corporate and forensic accounting areas working mainly for KPMG or its predecessor firms.
In addition to being an AIFLAM Specialist Accredited Arbitrator, Philip is a nationally accredited mediator and acts as such in family and commercial disputes. Since December 2021, Philip has been the Queensland Barrister representative member of the Executive of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Philip is a member of The Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM). He served as its Queensland Board Member in 2020 and 2021 and is currently one of the Family Law Section’s representatives on the AIFLAM Board.
Philip is a member of 19 Inns Chambers in Brisbane and French Quarter Chambers on the Gold Coast.
The Hon Justice Jarrett
Nominee of Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1)
Justice Jarrett was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 8 April 1989 after completing five years Articles of Clerkship first with Clayton, Murrell & Woolmer and then Hopgood and Ganim (as it then was). Between his admission and April 1991 he was employed as a solicitor with the firm of Hopgood and Ganim in the firm's commercial litigation section.
On 8 April 1991 Justice Jarrett was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He practiced as a barrister from chambers in Brisbane in a wide range of civil litigation including vendor and purchaser actions, landlord and tenant actions, employment related litigation, insolvency litigation, product liability claims, and actions under the Trade Practices Act. Justice Jarrett also practiced, although not exclusively, in matrimonial litigation, including disputes relating to children, maintenance and property.
Justice Jarrett was appointed to the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (as it was then
known) on 2 February 2004. He became a Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of
Australia on 12 April, 2013. He presided over cases across all areas of the Court’s
jurisdiction including the administrative law, bankruptcy, consumer law, intellectual
property, child support, human rights and equal opportunity, migration, industrial and
(occasionally) admiralty jurisdictions exercised by the Court.
On 15 October, 2021 Justice Jarrett took up his appointment to the Federal Circuit and
Family Court of Australia (Division 1) (formerly known as the Family Court of
Australia).
Judge Suthers
Nominee of Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)
Judge Suthers is one of two representatives of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (‘the Court’).
Prior to her appointment to the Court, Judge Suthers practised in the family law jurisdiction for over 25 years, working in Central and North Queensland and then in Newcastle and Sydney. During that time, Judge Suthers has practised as a nationally accredited mediator (NMAS), nationally accredited arbitrator (AIFLAM), registered family dispute resolution practitioner, registrar of the various iterations of the Court, counsel and accredited family law specialist.
These roles have enabled Judge Suthers to participate in and/or facilitate various dispute resolution events including arbitrations, conciliation conferences, property mediations and family dispute resolution events.
Judge Suthers has been a member of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM) since 2019.