Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry 2025 Conference

Felix Ralph is a criminal defence lawyer and partner at MJR Criminal + Migration Lawyers who runs a busy criminal law practice in Melbourne and Sunshine.

From pro bono resistance of reporting of young people during the “African Gangs crisis” to representing vulnerable defendants charged with high profile crimes; he will talk about the practical realities of the justice system, the Open Courts Act 2013 (Vic) and the process of applying for suppression orders for vulnerable individuals.

This will allow psychiatrists to have a sophisticated understanding of the legal process of suppression orders if they treat a patient at high risk of harm due to media reporting.

Emily Hart is a Principal Lawyer and head of Arnold Thomas & Becker’s Medical Negligence Team. She is a Law Institute of Victoria accredited specialist in personal injury law and has worked exclusively in medical negligence for over 15 years.

She is also Deputy Chair of the Health Law Committee at the Law Institute of Victoria. She has a particular interest in obstetric, Coronial and mental health matters. 

Ali Besiroglu is the Director of Legal Services at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. He was a lawyer at VALS for 7 years practising primarily in criminal and civil law.

Ali then specialised in civil litigation at Robinson Gill, taking civil actions against the state of Victoria for police misconduct. Ali has acted for many Aboriginal families in coronial inquests for loved ones who passed away in police and prison custody, including Veronica Nelson’s mother, Aunty Donna Nelson.

He was awarded the Stephen Myall award last year for his outstanding contribution to social justice. 

James Anderson joined the Victorian Bar in 2014.  He is a member of Parnell’s List and Peta Murphy Chambers.

He chiefly practices in criminal trial work, appearing in the Supreme Court and County Court in matters including homicide, terrorism, fraud, drug and sexual offending.

He previously worked at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and regularly returns to the NT to appear in criminal trials.  He regularly works with psychiatrists to advance the interests of his clients, calling them to give evidence in relation to suppression orders, mental impairment defences, doli incapax, risk assessments and pleas in mitigation.

Dr Karen Williams is a Consultant Psychiatrist who specialises in PTSD and other trauma syndromes. She is a member of Family Violence Network Committee in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. She is the Special Advisor on Mental Health at the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre. She is also a member of the Professional Advisory Group for The Trauma Recovery Centre being developed on the NSW South Coast.

Dr Williams is the founder of Doctors Against Violence Towards Women, an advocacy group aimed at promoting the mental and physical safety of women who are survivors of Family Violence and sexual assault. She provided evidence at the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into Family, Sexual and Domestic Violence, as well as the Joint Select Committee on Coercive Control in NSW.

Most recently Dr Williams has been involved in the establishment of Ramsay Clinic Thirroul, a women’s only hospital dedicated to the treatment of the psychological and psychiatric consequences of trauma.

Dr Angelo Virgona has been a psychiatrist since 1990 and has straddled many clinical and administrative roles across settings in a peripatetic career from inner city, outer metropolitan, rural, private, public.

Dr Virgona ran city and rural mental health services and was involved in establishing and running various types of public sector units, two private psychiatric units, Headspace site, and mental health access lines. He has also been in private practice, one way or another (general psychiatry, psychotherapy and medico-legal practice, mainly) since 1990 and a member of various NSW Health committees over the years.

Dr Virgona was a medical superintendent of Ramsay Clinic Macarthur in Campbelltown for 10 years. He is interested in mental health policy, generally. He deplores the current state of mental health funding and service delivery and is interested in exploring innovative models to improve same, including better coordination of the private/public interface. His specific interest is in improving access to psychotherapy services for those with trauma-related disorders.

Dr Virgona is the immediate past Chair of NSW Branch of RANZCP, having served in this role for 6 years, and was a member of the Members Advisory Council and Branch Chairs Forum. He has previously been a member of the Committee for Continuing Professional Development and Telehealth Advisory Steering Group.

Dr Virgona was elected to the Board in May 2024 for a two-year term and can be contacted via angelo.virgona@ranzcp.org.

Natasha Robinson is The Australian’s health editor and writes across medicine, science, health policy, research, and lifestyle. Natasha has been a journalist for more than 20 years in newspapers and broadcasting, in 2024 was recognised as the National Press Club’s health journalist of the year. Natasha is also a lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and is currently undertaking a doctorate at QUT's Centre for Health Law Research investigating the plight in forensic detention of patients on indeterminate orders who utilised the mental impairment defence.