The Chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Mr Jeffrey Lucy has welcomed the announcement today that ASIC Commissioner, Professor Berna Collier is to be appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

‘I congratulate Berna on this great honour and outstanding personal achievement. It is a reflection of the esteem in which Berna and her contribution to public life are held’, Mr Lucy said.

Most recently that contribution to public life has been made at ASIC where Professor Collier has been a Commissioner since November 2001.

‘Berna has made a particularly important contribution in the areas of financial services regulation, insolvency law and on regional issues, as well as being an outstanding ambassador for ASIC in liaising with our many stakeholders.’

‘She has also demonstrated boundless enthusiasm and energy in her role as a commercially-astute regulator and a strong advocate of consumer protection’, Mr Lucy said.

Before coming to ASIC, Professor Collier worked, and had written, in the fields of commercial and insolvency law for some fifteen years, both in the professional and academic environment. Previously, Professor Collier was Professor of Commercial Law at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Co-Director of the Centre for Commercial and Property Law at QUT, and a consultant with Clayton Utz lawyers. She also chaired the Government’s Taskforce on Industry Self-regulation in 1999-2000.

It is expected that Professor Collier will take up her appointment as a Federal Court Judge, based in Brisbane, in early February 2006.

ASIC operates under the direction of three full-time Commissioners appointed by the Governor-General on the nomination of the Treasurer.