NAAJA appoints Ben Grimes as new chief executive

The Territory’s largest Aboriginal legal aid service has named its new CEO – hoping to turn the page on a chapter of leadership marred by instability and nasty legal battles.

New NAAJA appointments Matthew Connop, Ben Grimes and Anna Gill.

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency has named Ben Grimes as its chief executive, hoping to turn the page on a chapter of leadership marred by instability and nasty legal battles.

He will start as chief executive September 1, taking over from Anthony Beven, who has been acting in the role since September last year.

A lawyer and linguist, Mr Grimes moves across from the not-for-profit Aboriginal Resource and Development Services (ARDS), where he has served as chief executive for five years.

During his tenure at ARDS, he oversaw a period of organisational growth and the development of new programs including a first language mediation service and a remote law and justice group.

Prior to that, Mr Grimes was a law lecturer at Charles Darwin University where he spearheaded the Indigenous pre-law program, a senior manager at the Aboriginal Interpreter Service, and a criminal lawyer with NAAJA.

NAAJA has finally appointed a new, permanent CEO.

“Ben’s appointment follows an extensive and competitive national recruitment process,” NAAJA chairwoman Theresa Roe said.

“The directors are looking forward to working with Ben to expand the delivery of justice, legal services, and advocacy that empower our people and communities.”

Mr Beven, who vacates his position at the end of August, was the sixth leader of the crucial legal service in less than two years – a churn of acting chief executives sparked by the attempted sacking of former boss Priscilla Atkins in early 2023.

Ms Atkins eventually emerged victorious in the bitter employment dispute that followed, the Federal Court ruling she had been unlawfully sacked and that NAAJA had breached the Fair Work Act.

An undisclosed settlement reached with Ms Atkins in February paved the way for NAAJA to hire a new, permanent chief executive.

Former North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency chief executive Priscilla Atkins leaves court. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

NAAJA has also this week confirmed that Matthew Connop would serve as deputy chief executive, a role he had been acting in since November after Phil Brown quit unexpectedly.

Anna Gill will return to NAAJA as its Principal Legal Officer. Ms Gill previously served as regional managing solicitor for NAAJA’s southern office.

The Annual General Meeting in November last year marked a significant governance and management overhaul for the agency, halving the number of directors and officially removing former chairman Hugh Woodbury and former deputy chairwoman Colleen Rosas from the board.

Mr Woodbury came under fire after revelations he had faced serious domestic violence charges. No conviction was recorded after he pleaded guilty to the 2020 aggravated assault on his pregnant partner.

Meanwhile while Ms Rosas was a key figure in the unfair dismissal proceedings - the court finding that she had given evidence under oath that was “dubious”, “implausible”, and both “startling and unconvincing in equal measure”.

Ms Roe and Carol Dowling were appointed chair and deputy chair respectively.

“The directors would like to thank Anthony Beven, acting CEO, for leading NAAJA through a period of significant structural and operational change over the last nine months and wish him all the best for the future,” Ms Roe said.