The Classification Board is made up of a director, a deputy director, other board members and temporary board members.

The Director of the Classification Board is responsible for the management and oversight of the Classification Board and its decision-making processes. The Director reports to the Australian Parliament on the activities of the Classification Board.

Under the Classification Act 1995, a person may be appointed as a temporary member of the Classification Board. A register of people suitable for temporary appointments is maintained and drawn on from time-to-time to provide short-term assistance in handling the workload of the Classification Board. Terms of appointment may be as short as one day and may extend to three months.

The Classification Board operates on a majority-based decision-making procedure. It is important that members can communicate their views clearly and appreciate and contemplate the views of others. Members are mindful of their statutory requirements to make decisions that are good in law.

Members

Sally Ryan

Acting Director

Appointed: 25 July 2020

Deputy Director

Appointed: 21 March 2019

Appointment Expires: 20 March 2021

Ms Sally Ryan from Sydney was appointed as Deputy Director of the Classification Board in March 2019.

Prior to her appointment, Ms Ryan held various management roles in state government with the NSW Office of Sport and Venues NSW. As an experienced sport and leisure management professional, past roles have also included working with the Western Sydney Academy of Sport, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney 2009World Masters Games Organising Committee, and Parramatta Stadium Trust.

Ms Ryan has a Master of Business Administration (MGSM), a Graduate Diploma in Law(Southern Cross University) and a Bachelor of Arts in Leisure Studies (UTS). Asa parent of two, she is actively involved in her community through herchildren's school and sporting activities.

Alison Bickerstaff

Acting Deputy Director

Appointed: 25 July 2020

Board member

Appointed: 21 August 2014

Appointment Expires: 20 August 2021

Ms Alison Bickerstaff was a small business owner prior to her appointment to theClassification Board in 2014, operating several busy hairdressing salons.

Ms Bickerstaff is a hairstylist by trade, and has experience as both an employee and proprietor. She has been responsible for training and mentoring apprentices and developing their competency. The training skills have been further developed in her current Board positions, as she has delivered first-instance and refresher training in classification to industry.

Ms Bickerstaff has a young family and has been involved in her local community through her children's school and sporting commitments. She has managed her son's junior rugby league team and has been a board member of the team's committee. She is also involved in a local group that gathers regularly to helpcontrol the spread of noxious weeds and help with bush and creek re-generation in her local area.

Ms Bickerstaff is passionate about the environment and wildlife conservation. Her interests include sustainable living, rugby league, horse riding, gardening,film and the arts and spending time with her family. She enjoys listening to a variety of music genres and is also involved in her local community’s social media site, which covers issues such as neighbourhood watch, hazard/weather watch and cultural issues, and boosting community morale.

Thomas Mann

Board member

Appointed: 1 June 2016

Appointment Expires: 3 April 2022

Mr Thomas Mann is a writer and teacher. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Editing and Communications. Mr Mann relocated from Melbourne to take up his position with the Board.

He has a background in writing for a variety of publications and was an editor for an online music website prior to his appointment. Through his work and personal interests, Mr Mann had an extensive involvement with the online community.

His local community involvement included support to the migrant community in Footscray as a volunteer English tutor and work with Melbourne’s student community as a volunteer with the youth focused radio station SYN FM. Mr Mann has three children.

Rachel Merton

Board member

Appointed: 4 April 2019

Appointment Expires: 3 April 2022

Ms Rachel Merton lives in Mosman and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Education from Macquarie University. She has extensive experience in both the private and public sector, including over 13 years as a senior executive with KPMG Australia. Prior to that, she worked in the Federal Government public policy areas of Family and Community Services as well as the Commonwealth Treasury.

Ms Merton is the mother of two young girls and pursues interests in equestrian activities as well as wool and beef farming through her family's pastoral and agricultural interests in the central west of NSW. She and her family are extensively involved in their local community through their local preschool, Church and in sport with netball and the North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club

Ellenor Nixon

Board member

Appointed: 1 June 2016

Appointment Expires: 3 April 2022

Ms Ellenor Nixon holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science and relocated from Merriwa, NSW, to take up her position with the Board.

Prior to her appointment, Ms Nixon was the assistant manager on her family's mixed farming property. She has been actively involved in the community through her work with the local rural fire brigade, landcare events, agricultural shows and charities as well as competing in local sporting competitions. She is currently studying for a Graduate Certificate in Agriculture.

Temporary Board Members

Jenny Burke

Ms Jenny Burke resides in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, and has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Organisational Behaviour.

Over the past 15 years, Ms Burke has worked as a freelance market research contractor and a research consultant for numerous social research firms and the Australia Council for the Arts. Ms Burke is a mother to two young boys and is actively involved in the local community. She particularly enjoys volunteering in a leadership role at a local playgroup.

Damien Carr

Mr Damien Carr is an actor based in the Inner West of Sydney who trained at Actors Centre Australia. Mr Carr also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and English from Flinders University and a Diploma of Screen and Media from Sydney Film School.

Jenny Fowler

Ms Jenny Fowler resides in the southern suburbs of Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Education, Primary.

Ms Fowler currently works as a Youth Justice Conference Convenor, conducting conferences for juvenile offenders as an alternative to court. She has also worked as a primary school teacher and as an "extra" in film and television. Ms Fowler has a 25-year-old son and a 22-year-old daughter. Her interests include travel, sport and keeping fit.

Felix Hubble

Mr Felix Hubble splits his time between the inner west of Sydney and Melbourne’s inner north. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Film Studies) (Digital Cultures) (Hons). Mr Hubble is a film programmer, avid gamer, and former editor of an online film journal.

Iain Humphrey

Mr Iain Humphrey holds a Bachelor of Arts (French), from the University of Hull, UK. After graduation, he worked for a major brand consultancy as an operational specialist, before migrating to Australia in 2007.

In Australia, Mr Humphrey worked for Red Bee Media for 12 years, one of the leading providers of access services for blind and hearing‑impaired audiences. He has strong computer skills, with extensive experience of captioning and audio description software and has been a hobby console “gamer”since his undergraduate days.

Andrew Humphreys

Mr Andrew Humphreys lives in Sydney with his family. He is a writer and novelist with a background in publishing, having written for, edited and published a range of consumer magazines.

Mr Humphreys has degrees in Arts and Law and has also taught undergraduate and postgraduate media courses.

Jennifer Marvello

Ms Jennifer Marvello, is now retired from full‑time employment and lives in the south‑western suburbs of Sydney. She holds a Certificate IV Training& Assessment and Certificate IV Government Administration and has trained Customs Officers in drug detection technologies, interpretation of x‑ray images, and identification of prohibited imports and exports, particularly films and publications which had been, or were likely to be, Refused Classification.

Ms Marvello is actively involved in her community as a long‑term fundraising chair at Kingsgrove Public School and the Kingsgrove Cricket Club.

Lora Pechovska

Ms Lora Pechovska lives in the north-western suburbs of Sydney. She has a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Humanities) (Hons), a Bachelor of Arts (English Hons)and a Diploma in Digital and Interactive Games (Art).

Her community involvement includes working in educational environments such as teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), tutoring refugees and teaching English overseas. She currently works as a private English tutor and a retail assistant and visual merchandiser for a fashion retailer.

Paul Tenison

Mr Paul Tenison resides in the northern districts of Sydney. Mr Tenison was previously a temporary Board member and has recently re‑joined the Board following his retirement from full‑time public sector employment with the Classification Branch. His previous work with the Branch included training of industry assessors and financial and policy management of the classification scheme.

Mr Tenison is married with 2 adult children and has 3 grand‑children. He is active socially in his immediate community and through his grand‑children’s schooling and sporting activities.