The Commissioner

The current Commissioner of the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission is Robert Fitzgerald, AM.

Mr Fitzgerald, a lawyer by profession, brings a significant amount of experience to this role, having been previously appointed as a Productivity Commissioner, Community and Disability Services Commissioner and Deputy Ombudsman in NSW.

The Australian Government appointed Mr Fitzgerald as a Commissioner on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, from 2013 to 2017. Mr Fitzgerald was also appointed to Chair the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission Advisory Board for three years from 2012.

Importantly, Mr Fitzgerald was the convenor of the Indigenous Disadvantage Working Group of the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision for over 9 years.

Voluntary work

For more than 30 years the Commissioner has been involved in a voluntary capacity in numerous community services, including:

• President – Australian Council of Social Service
• Chair – National Roundtable of non-profit Organisations
• State President – St Vincent de Paul Society (NSW)
• Chair – JOB futures Ltd (a national network of community job market providers)
• National Committee Member – Caritas Australia
• Board Director – Families Australia, the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies, Foyer Foundation, NSW Council of Social Service, Benevolent Society and Social Ventures Australia.

Previous inquiries and studies

The Commissioner’s previous experiences in to inquiries and studies include:

• National Disability Agreement Review
• Veterans Compensation and Rehabilitation
• Regulation Impact Analysis: Benchmarking
• Early Childhood Development Sector
• Caring for Older Australians
• Gambling (2009)
• Australia's Consumer Policy Framework
• Australia's Health Workforce
• Australia's Gambling Industries (1999)
• Consumer Product Safety
• Contribution of the Not for Profit Sector
• Executive Remuneration
• National Competition Policy Arrangements
• Paid Parental Leave
• Smash Repair and Insurance Industries
• Standards and Accreditation.

In addition, Mr Fitzgerald served on a number of university advisory boards, including the Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Philanthropy and Non-profit Studies Advisory Board, the Australian Catholic University Community Engagement Advisory Committee and the University of Sydney Law School Advisory Board.

Mr Fitzgerald holds degrees in commerce and law from the University of NSW. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994, is a recipient of the Centenary medal, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Australian Catholic University in 2001. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at University of Western Australia and Patron of Justice Connect and SAMSN (Survivors and Mates Support Network).