Gillian Triggs

Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian and British public international lawyer, specialising in human rights and trade and commercial law. She is also an academic, barrister, and director. She became widely known in Australia after her appointment as president of the Australian Human Rights Commission for a five-year term in 2012.

After working in private chambers as a consultant on international law for around a decade, Triggs was appointed professor at the Melbourne Law School in 1996. She was dean of the Sydney Law School, where she was the Challis Professor of International Law between 2007 and 2012. In 2019, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. In this capacity, she served until December 2023 as the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection.

Triggs is the recipient of many honours and awards, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day Honours.

Early life and education Gillian Doreen Triggs was born in London, England, on 30 October 1945 In north London, she attended a local convent school, and studied ballet. Her father was a major in the British Army, and her mother a WREN (member of the Women's Royal Navy Service). In 1958, aged 12, she migrated at the age of 12 with her family to Melbourne, Australia.

She attended University High School and then the University of Melbourne, where she was crowned "Miss University" in 1966. In 1973 she was appointed assistant professor at the University of Nebraska. continuing to provide consultation until 2005, including in Singapore, Paris, and Melbourne.

In 1996 Triggs was appointed professorial fellow at Melbourne Law School, a position she held until 2007. From 2000 until 2004 she was associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and also held a number of other roles within the Faculty of Law during this time. leaving in 2012.

Triggs was admitted to the Victorian Bar, and from 2009 to 2011, she was an honorary member at Sydney barristers' chambers Seven Wentworth Chambers.

Australian Human Rights Commission (2012-2017)

On 27 July 2012, Triggs ended her term as dean of the Sydney Law School

On 3 February 2014, almost two years after her appointment as the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Triggs launched the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014, to "investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children". The report was published in November 2014 as "The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention". From this time, there was an increase in tensions between the Australian Government under Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the Office of the President of the HRC. Some government ministers alleged that the report was politically motivated and that Triggs' decision not to conduct a review during the term of the previous Labor government was evidence of this. However, Triggs criticised both Labor and Coalition governments for ignoring their commitments and legal obligations to protect children under their care and protection. She received significant public support, and a censure motion was passed in the Senate against Attorney-General George Brandis over his attacks on her as the president of the HRC.

Racial Discrimination Act case

In 2016, Triggs received criticism for her handling of an action involving three Queensland University of Technology (QUT) students who were accused of racial vilification under Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). One of the students was alleged to have breached Section 18C because of a Facebook post which read: "Just got kicked out of the unsigned Indigenous computer room. QUT stopping segregation with segregation". In November 2016, the Federal Court threw out the lawsuit and Judge Michael Jarrett concluded the claim had no reasonable prospects of success. Triggs said she had urged the government to introduce a higher threshold before the commission was obliged to investigate hate speech complaints, Triggs said removing "offend" and "insult" and inserting "vilify" would be a strengthening of the laws but did not advocate for this.

Political critics In October 2016, Liberal Senator Ian MacDonald alleged that Triggs had misled the Senate by stating that a journalist had misquoted comments made by her about several Australian politicians in a profile piece by The Saturday Paper. She later said that she accepted that the article was "an accurate excerpt from a longer interview". In November 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that the government would not renew Triggs' commission when it expired in July 2017.

In March 2017, Triggs defended her engagement to speak at a fundraising event for the Bob Brown Foundation, after Liberal Senator Eric Abetz criticised her appearance there, as the foundation conducts overtly political activist campaigns. Other senior members of government, including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, called for her resignation.

UNHCR (2019–2023) In 2019, she was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. In this capacity, she served until December 2023 as the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection in the executive team of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

Triggs remains ambassador of Australia for UNHCR.

Recognition and honours Honorary positions Honorary fellow, College of Law, Sydney Honorary Master Bencher, Inner Temple, London (2023) (2012)

Honours and awards 2014: Honorary doctorate, Macquarie University 2023: Prominent Women of International Law Award 2023: American Society of International Law: International Law Woman of the year

Publications Triggs has published papers on various topics of public international law, including World Trade Organization disputes resolution, energy and resources law, law of the sea, territorial sovereignty, jurisdiction and immunity, international criminal law, international environmental law and human rights.

Triggs is also author of two editions of International Law: Contemporary Principles and Practices (2006, 2011), and has co-written, written, or edited a number of books and numerous book chapters and articles. She has been editor of the journals International and Comparative Law Quarterly and Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association Journal.

Other roles Among others, past roles include: Chair, Academic Advisory Group, Section on Energy and Resources Law, International Bar Association (SERL) (2000-4) Ambassador, Australia for UNHCR (as of 2025) being born with a rare chromosomal abnormality called Edwards syndrome, and was not expected to live. Clark and Triggs took her home when she was six months old, but,

She later married former Australian diplomat Alan Brown .