Presenters

Claire O’Connor SC, Villeneuve Smith Chambers
Claire O'Connor SC is a barrister practising in criminal, family and civil work, (predominantly personal injuries, inquiries and inquests) Aside from the usual practice of car accidents, murders, rapes and family disputes over children, assets and pets, those areas entail she is also well known for her refugee and detention centre work acting for the plaintiff in Al Kateb v Secretary dept. of Immigration in the High Court, for Cornelia Rau in relation to the Palmer Inquiry into her unlawful detention (and her subsequent rescue from Jordan where Ms Rau was detained under their mental health provisions), and in the inquest into the sinking of the SIEV 221 off the coast of Christmas Island in 2010 where she appeared for the survivors and families of the deceased. She worked on many Aboriginal justice issues including the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission, at Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement as an in-house counsel, and juniored Julian Burnside AO QC into first and so far only successful stolen generation case of Trevorrow v The State of South Australia. Claire has also acted for many asbestos victims in litigation against employers and suppliers of asbestos in particular in the successful test case in this State of Parker v BHP. She has developed a keen interest in gender equity issues in the last few years in particular and is the Law Society of SA representative on the Law Council gender committee, a member of the SA Bar Women at the Bar committee and a member of the Law Society's own gender equity working group. She was on the establishment committee some 20 years ago for the women's legal service and served for many years on its management committee. Her legal employment experience has been in private practice, the community sector and in the government sector in SA and the UK before, in 2005, she went to the bar. She was appointed a senior counsel in 2014.


Stephen Page, Director, Page Provan
Stephen Page is a director of Page Provan, Brisbane. Stephen was admitted as a solicitor in 1987 and has been a Queensland Law Society family law accredited specialist since 1996. He has spoken extensively about family law, domestic violence and fertility law at local, national and international conferences. Stephen is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (including co-chair of the Sexuality and Gender Identity Committee) and of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, and is an international representative on the ART Committee of the American Bar Association. He has received a number of awards, including the Queensland Law Society President’s Medal (2023). Stephen has written many legal articles. He is the author of two books: When Not If: Surrogacy for Australians (2022) and International Assisted Reproductive Technology (2024). Stephen is a member of several committees. He is the Secretary of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Presenters

Claire O’Connor SC, Villeneuve Smith Chambers
Claire O'Connor SC is a barrister practising in criminal, family and civil work, (predominantly personal injuries, inquiries and inquests) Aside from the usual practice of car accidents, murders, rapes and family disputes over children, assets and pets, those areas entail she is also well known for her refugee and detention centre work acting for the plaintiff in Al Kateb v Secretary dept. of Immigration in the High Court, for Cornelia Rau in relation to the Palmer Inquiry into her unlawful detention (and her subsequent rescue from Jordan where Ms Rau was detained under their mental health provisions), and in the inquest into the sinking of the SIEV 221 off the coast of Christmas Island in 2010 where she appeared for the survivors and families of the deceased. She worked on many Aboriginal justice issues including the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission, at Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement as an in-house counsel, and juniored Julian Burnside AO QC into first and so far only successful stolen generation case of Trevorrow v The State of South Australia. Claire has also acted for many asbestos victims in litigation against employers and suppliers of asbestos in particular in the successful test case in this State of Parker v BHP. She has developed a keen interest in gender equity issues in the last few years in particular and is the Law Society of SA representative on the Law Council gender committee, a member of the SA Bar Women at the Bar committee and a member of the Law Society's own gender equity working group. She was on the establishment committee some 20 years ago for the women's legal service and served for many years on its management committee. Her legal employment experience has been in private practice, the community sector and in the government sector in SA and the UK before, in 2005, she went to the bar. She was appointed a senior counsel in 2014.


Stephen Page, Director, Page Provan
Stephen Page is a director of Page Provan, Brisbane. Stephen was admitted as a solicitor in 1987 and has been a Queensland Law Society family law accredited specialist since 1996. He has spoken extensively about family law, domestic violence and fertility law at local, national and international conferences. Stephen is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (including co-chair of the Sexuality and Gender Identity Committee) and of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, and is an international representative on the ART Committee of the American Bar Association. He has received a number of awards, including the Queensland Law Society President’s Medal (2023). Stephen has written many legal articles. He is the author of two books: When Not If: Surrogacy for Australians (2022) and International Assisted Reproductive Technology (2024). Stephen is a member of several committees. He is the Secretary of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand.