In this keynote address, The Honourable Justice Yehia explores the vital role of solution‑focused justice in shaping more effective, humane, and responsive court systems. Solution‑focused courts—sometimes referred to as specialist or problem‑solving courts—sought to address the underlying causes of offending, including mental health conditions, substance dependence, and the profound impacts of family violence. By recognising the complex personal and social factors that brought individuals before the court, these jurisdictions aimed not only to reduce recidivism but to promote stability, healing, and long‑term wellbeing.
Her Honour provides an overview of the objectives and principles that guided solution‑focused courts and examined how these courts were operating across Australia. Their work demonstrated the transformative potential of judicial practices that were trauma‑informed, culturally safe, and grounded in therapeutic principles. She also consideres how mainstream courts could incorporate solution‑focused approaches to enhance judicial engagement, improve procedural fairness, and strengthen the quality of outcomes for all participants in the justice system.
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE YEHIA
The Honourable Justice Yehia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of NSW and subsequently completed a Masters in International Criminal Law at Sydney University.
Her Honour was admitted as a solicitor in 1989 and worked with the Western Aboriginal Legal Service from December 1989 until September 1996. In that capacity, her Honour appeared for thousands of Aboriginal people in towns such as Bourke, Brewarrina, Wilcannia and Broken Hill.
Her Honour worked as a Solicitor Advocate with the Legal Aid Commission and was called to the Bar in 1999. Her Honour was then appointed a Public Defender. Her Honour took silk in 2009 and became the first female Deputy Senior Public Defender in 2013.
Her Honour’s practice in the Supreme Court included murder trials and the year-long terrorism trial at Parramatta in 2009. In 2013, her Honour appeared as lead counsel in the High Court case of Bugmy v The Queen and in the Special Leave application in Honeysett.
Her Honour was appointed a Judge of the District Court in May 2014.
Between 2019 and November 2022, her Honour was the Chairperson of Diverse Women in Law, an Organisation which has been formed to mentor women of diverse backgrounds in the profession. In that position, she has mentored many women in the law and commenced the Court Observation Program which provides an opportunity for a woman from a diverse background, studying law, to spend a day with a Judge in either the Supreme or District Court, observing proceedings and generally engaging with the Judge and her/his staff. Her Honour was formerly a Board Member of Diverse Women in Law.
Her Honour is also the current Chair of the Ngara Yura Committee. The Ngara Yura Program aims to increase awareness among Judicial Officers about First Nations social and cultural issues. Her Honour is also a member of the Bugmy Bar Book Committee and Board Member of the Australian Institution of Judicial Administration (AIJA).
On 23 June 2022, her Honour was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Her Honour was sworn in on 4 July 2022.
In January 2023, her Honour became an Adjunct Professor at the Law School of the University of New South Wales. Her Honour currently teaches a newly devised sentencing course to undergraduate and postgraduate law students at the University of New South Wales.
Her book “The Essential Guide To Sentencing in NSW” was published in December 2023.
On 29 September 2025, her Honour became a Patron of Diverse Women in Law.
DETAILS
- This is an on-demand webinar you can watch at anytime - a link and password will be sent to you when you register
- Cost: Members - Free, Non-member $70
- CPD: Members will earn 1 CPD point in core area 1
- This event was recorded on Tuesday 3 March 2026
- This recording will expire on 31 March 2026
Registration
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| Non-member | $70.00(GST incl.) | Register |
