Megan Latham


Megan Fay Latham was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and was the sole Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption from January 2014 to November 2016.

Background and early years

Born in 1954 and raised in the area of Sydney, Latham was educated at MLC School, in before matriculating and studying Arts/Law at the University of New South Wales where she graduated in 1979.
Between 1979 and 1982, Latham was employed as a solicitor in ; and then commenced working for the NSW Government, initially in the Lands Department and then in the office of the Clerk of the Peace, prior to secondment to the Premier's Department. Latham was admitted to the New South Wales Bar Association in 1987 and appointed as a Crown Prosecutor, until 1994. In mid-1996, Latham was appointed as the first and only female Crown Advocate of New South Wales.

Judicial career

Latham was sworn in as a NSW District Court judge in August 1998; and as a judge of the NSW Supreme Court in April 2005.
During her time at the Supreme Court, prominent cases included the sentencing of Roger Kingsley Dean, a nurse at the Quakers Hill Nursing Home who pleaded guilty to eleven counts of murder of elderly residents, attributed to arson. Dean was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

Commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption

Following the announcement of the premature retirement of The Honourable David Ipp due to ill-health in October 2013, Latham was appointed as the nominee to replace Ipp as the sole Commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and took up her appointment in late January 2014.
In November 2016, Latham informed the Governor of New South Wales that she intended to resign as commissioner effective 30 November, following the state government's overhaul of the commission, which would see three commissioners appointed and would require Latham to re-apply for the role.