Meredith Leigh – First Parliamentary Counsel

Ms Leigh is the First Parliamentary Counsel with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC), which is responsible for drafting all principal legislation, all regulations and a range of legislative instruments for the Australian Government. OPC is also responsible for the publication of Commonwealth legislation through the Federal Register of Legislation.

Ms Leigh has over 25 years of drafting experience. She has worked extensively with all departments and many agencies, including Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office, including in the areas of tax, corporations law, education, and more recently counter-terrorism legislation and electoral legislation.

She was also a member of the inaugural Board of the Australian Government Legal Service (AGLS) during 2021 and 2022. The AGLS supports a whole-of-government, high quality, consistent and coordinated approach to the delivery of legal services and the management of legal risk across the Commonwealth.

Before joining OPC, Ms Leigh worked for a short period as a corporate lawyer at Allen, Allen and Hemsley.

Ms Leigh has been an ex‑officio member of the Board since 11 October 2021.

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