ACU has appointed Justice Martin Daubney as its new chancellor

The Australian Catholic University has turned to a Queensland Supreme Court judge to be its new chancellor.

Justice Martin Daubney will be the new chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. Picture AAP/David Clark

The new chancellor of the Australian Catholic University will be Queensland supreme court justice Martin Daubney, who will take up the five-year appointment in January 2022.

Justice Daubney, who will be the fifth chancellor of ACU, said it was a “unique national institution, which is firmly grounded in 2000 years of Catholic intellectual tradition and the church’s engagement in university education for a millennium”.

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“ACU’s core commitments to the pursuit of knowledge, the dignity of the human person and the common good resonate for all Australians,” Justice Daubney said.

As chancellor, he will lead ACU’s Senate, its top governing body.

Justice Daubney was appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2007, and as president of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2017. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he served on the Council of the Bar Association of Queensland, including as president in 2006.

Justice Daubney has also held leadership positions in numerous church, community and cultural organisations. He served on the University of Queensland senate from 2010 to 2017, and as president of King’s College Council since 2009. In 2018 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

Virginia Bourke

Acting Chancellor Julien O’Connell will continue in the role until January 1.

At the same time, Melbourne lawyer Virginia Bourke has been announced as pro-chancellor, taking up the position from July 2022 for five years.

Ms Bourke said she felt a great affinity with ACU: “both its history in the work of many of the Catholic congregations which have shaped my life and its future as a global leader in Catholic education and mission-based research”.

Ms Bourke is chair of Mercy Health and of St. John Ambulance Victoria, and is a director of St. John Ambulance Australia, Catholic Health Australia and Caritas Australia. She is also a consultant with the national health industry group at Minter Ellison Lawyers.