Three new magistrates appointed in Queensland

Three women with impressive achievements in the legal profession are the latest appointments to the Queensland magistracy.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman congratulated Magistrate Dzenita Balic, Magistrate Edwina Rowan and Magistrate Veena Jattan on their elevation to the bench.

“Each of the new magistrates have been very strong contributors to their workplaces and community at large, and I know they will serve Queensland well in their important new roles,” Minister Fentiman said.

“Magistrate Balic was admitted to the Bar in 2006, beginning her career as a legal support officer with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and worked her way through the ranks from there.”

Her Honour was principal crown prosecutor at Ipswich, Maroochydore and Brisbane for the past seven years and has prosecuted more than 150 criminal trials to verdict and more than 120 appeals in the Court of Appeal.

Magistrate Balic is the Chair of Diversity at the Women’s Lawyers Association of Queensland and is a former board member of the Islamic Centre Rochedale, where she represented women in Islam and specific issues faced by Islamic women in Queensland.

The Attorney-General said Magistrate Veena Jattan is an expert in litigation dispute resolution, having specialised in this area of law for the past two decades.

“Her Honour was a longtime senior associate lawyer with Adamson Bernays Kyle & Jones (ABKJ) Lawyers on the Gold Coast and was more recently a senior associate at Mullins Lawyers in Brisbane” she said.

“She has also been a sessional academic at QUT for almost five years.”

Magistrate Edwina Rowan was raised in Bundaberg and began her career with century-old Bundaberg firm Charltons Lawyers in 2005 and worked her way up to be appointed a partner in 2017.

Her Honour was admitted to the bar in 2007, having graduated with Honours in a Bachelor of Law at QUT, as well as gaining a Distinction in a Bachelor of Journalism.

The Attorney-General said her Honour has been an active member of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, is president of the EDON Place Bundaberg Women’s Domestic Violence Service and is past secretary of the Bundaberg Law Association.

“It is perhaps no surprise that Magistrate Rowan was awarded the Agnes McWhinney Award by the Queensland Law Society in 2019 for her outstanding contribution to the legal profession and community,” she said.

“All three of our new magistrates have worked incredibly hard for their appointments and I wish them every success for the future.”

The Magistrates will begin their appointments on 4 January 2022. Magistrate Jattan and Magistrate Balic will be located at Southport Magistrates Court and Magistrate Rowan will be located at Bundaberg Magistrates Court.

ENDS

Media contact:             Inga Williams          0439 949 719