The Department of Justice (DoJ) announced today (September 9) the appointment of Ms Theresa Ann Johnson as Law Draftsman, to head the Law Drafting Division of the Department.

Ms Johnson was selected for the position through a promotion-cum-open recruitment exercise. She will assume duty on January 4, 2016.

Welcoming the appointment, the Secretary for Justice, Mr Rimsky Yuen, SC, said that Ms Johnson has sound professional experience and remarkable leadership.

"Ms Johnson has rich experience in legislative drafting. I am sure that she will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the Department of Justice. I very much look forward to working with her," said Mr Yuen.

Mr Yuen also expressed his gratitude to Mr Paul Wan, who will formally complete his tenure as Law Draftsman in October, for his valuable contributions during his term of service.

Ranked at Law Officer (DL6) level, the post of Law Draftsman is responsible for overseeing the drafting of all government legislation and advising on complex and important legal issues identified in the course of developing draft legislation.

A brief biographical note on Ms Johnson is set out below:

Ms Theresa Ann Johnson, aged 55, was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in Australia in 1984. She has nearly 30 years of drafting experience and has drafted a significant quantity of sensitive and highly complex legislation across a range of subject areas. After serving in the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, Canberra, in Australia and taking up different teaching posts in the Australian National University and Queensland University of Technology in her earlier career, Ms Johnson joined the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel (OQPC) in 1991. During her more than 20 years' service in the OQPC she took up a number of senior positions and advanced to the head post of the Parliamentary Counsel in 2010.

Ends/Wednesday, Sep 09, 2015