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Judicial officers of the Parole Authority are usually acting or retired Judges or Magistrates of a NSW Federal, Supreme, District or Local Court.
They are appointed by the NSW Governor on the recommendation of the Attorney General for a period of up to three years and may be reappointed at the discretion of the Governor.
Chair of the Authority, The Honourable Geoffrey Bellew, AM SC, was appointed in February 2023 and reappointed for a second term which continues until 2029.
The Honorable Geoffrey Bellew AM SC was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1991, appointed Senior Counsel in 2006 and sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court in 2012, sitting in the Common Law Division, and regularly as a member of the Bench of the Court of Criminal Appeal.
A noted author, he has written numerous legal texts on various subjects including the law of evidence and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Notre Dame University.
Outside the law, he is a passionate rugby league devotee and is the Judicairy Chair for the NRL and IRL He is also the NRL's inaugural Independent Decision Maker for off-field disciplinary matters.
In 2026 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his significant and distinguished service to the judiciary and the law, the legal profession, and to rugby league.
APPOINTED: 2023
Appointed an Acting Local Court Magistrate in 2008, Mr Bailey served on the metropolitan and country circuits. Previously a Public Solicitor in the Criminal Indictable Section he has extensive experience in criminal and civil matters.
APPOINTED: 2016
A distinguished barrister and long‑serving Judge of the District Court, where she presided for nearly 20 years, working primarily in the criminal jurisdiction. Judge Hock is the first woman appointed as a judicial member of the Authority since 2010.
APPOINTED: 2025
Appointed to the District Court of NSW in 2004, Judge Marien has served the law in a distinguished career spanning 40 years. His roles have included Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor, a Director of the Criminal Law Review Division of the Attorney Generals’ Department and President of the Children’s Court of NSW. He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 2003.
APPOINTED: 2021
Highly regarded as an exceptional practitioner specialising in criminal prosecutions, Chris Maxwell, QC was appointed Senior Crown Prosecutor for NSW 2018 - 2022. Joining the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1987, he became a Queens Counsel in 1989, and was deputy senior crown prosecutor for more than 20 years. A prosecutor of war crimes at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 2002 he later served as the UN's Chief International Prosecutor.
APPOINTED: 2022
Appointed a Magistrate in 1988, and a former mayor of Temora Municipal Council, his previous roles include NSW Home Fund Commissioner, Senior Coordinating Magistrate Western Suburbs Local Court and Judicial Member of the NSW Racing Tribunal.
APPOINTED: 2016
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