The members of the Licence Review Panel are drawn from Australia’s legal profession and have extensive experience in dispute resolution and have been appointed by the auDA Board after a comprehensive selection process.
The Licence Review Panel updates and replaces the Registrant Review Panel under the previous licensing rules, with an expanded remit.
It is the final point of escalation in the complaints process under the new .au licensing rules. Complaints must first be lodged with the registrar who issued the domain name licence. Complaints can be escalated to the panel once the registrar and auDA complaints procedures have been exhausted, and once escalated to the panel, the complaint will be assigned to a panel member for review.
The members have been appointed to the panel for a one-year term, commencing on 1 March 2021, and comprise:
Phillip Davies (Chair) is a lawyer with over 30 years’ experience, including 24 years at King Wood Mallesons, 13 of which as a partner. He has worked in intellectual property law, as a member of several professional tribunals, and holds extensive executive management and corporate governance experience. Presently, Mr Davies is a member of four tribunals including the Building Appeals Board and the Disciplinary Appeals Board, and is the national Tolling Customer Ombudsman.
Bernadette Day is a solicitor who has operated her own practice for over 13 years. She has served on the South Australia Civil and Administrative Tribunal as a presiding member as well as on several Boards. Prior to private practice, Ms Day was a legal officer for the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and at the Australian Communications and Media Authority, where she provided legal advice regarding radiocommunications, telecommunications and the Internet.
Angela Flannery is currently a partner at Holding Redlich, specialising in technology, media and telecommunications. Ms Flannery has more than 20 years’ experience in both private practice and in the Commonwealth Government, having previously been First Assistant Secretary and General Counsel within the Commonwealth Department of Communications and the Arts.
Melissa Marcus is a barrister specialising in intellectual property and defamation law. Ms Marcus has also acted as an independent auditor in relation to undertakings to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and has represented clients in Royal Commissions. Prior to joining the Bar, she worked for many years at Mallesons Stephen Jaques, managing their Trade Marks Group and at Linklaters in London.
Andrew Sykes is a barrister with a dedicated practice in intellectual property and information technology, including issues of branding (trade mark law, domain names and passing off). Mr Sykes is an arbitrator with the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre and the Czech Arbitration Court in Prague. He also is the author of Australian Trade Mark Opposition Law (2nd ed.) and co-author of “Trade Marks and the Internet” in Lahore’s Patents, Trade Marks & Related Rights.
auDA Chief Executive Officer, Rosemary Sinclair AM, welcomed the appointments, noting that, “The Licence Review Panel ensures procedural fairness and a robust avenue for complaint resolution by an experienced, independent individual”.
“I’m pleased to welcome Phillip Davies as the Chair of the Panel. He is joined by four eminent members whose experience in law, governance and technology will support Internet users with transparent and accessible recourse in the event they need to escalate concerns about .au domain compliance.”
“I am pleased to join the .au Licence Review Panel, which will assist applicants in resolving complaints and contribute to ensuring .au remains a secure, trusted domain,” Phillip Davis said.
