Mary B.

Experience

• 

  Legal Aid NSW

  Feb 2006 - Nov 2008

  I specialised in various civil / consumer law matters including credit, debt and mortgage matters, guardianship law, discrimination law, social security law, housing law and mental health. I negotiated resolutions for vulnerable clients and assisted in drafting submissions for court / tribunal processes. I applied effective communication and positive influencing skills to promote mediation as an alternate to the court process. A large majority of disputants who participated in mediations I had organised reached an early resolution, thereby saving them time, cost and stress.

  • Legal Officer

    May 2008 - Nov 2008

  • Family Mediation Organiser

    Feb 2006 - May 2008
• 

  Credit & Investments Ombudsman Ltd

  Jan 2009 - Feb 2011

  Case Manager

  The CIO (decommissioned in 2018 with the commencement of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) was a free, independent and impartial dispute resolution service as an alternative to legal proceedings. As a Case Manager I facilitated resolution of complaints between consumers and their financial service providers, lenders, aggregators, brokers, financial planners or advisors. I also worked in a specialist and challenging role in the Financial Hardship team negotiating solutions for consumers and lawfulness of debt collection activities. Show less

• 

  LEADR & IAMA - association of dispute resolvers

  Jan 2010 - Jan 2010

  Mediator accreditation

  Attended intensive mediation training course, underwent assessment and gained accreditation to work as a mediator in Australia.

• 

  Commonwealth Bank

  Apr 2011 - Nov 2011

  As a Customer Experience manager, I was responsible for customer complaints that had progressed to Ombudsman level. I brought matters to quick resolution while authorising a fast tracked process towards settlement outcomes which saved on costs. Later specialised in crisis customer management to negotiate facilitating hardship agreements between the bank and customers. Data research and identifying teams and business units within commbank that demonstrated excellence in customer service for public recognition at the yearly executive group awards ceremony.

  • Customer Experience Manager

    Jun 2011 - Nov 2011

  • Reporting Analyst - Internal Customer Service Management (ICSM)

    Apr 2011 - Jun 2011
• 

  Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON)

  Nov 2011 - Aug 2016

  Investigations Officer

  The Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) provides an independent way of resolving customer complaints about electricity and gas providers in NSW and some water providers. As an Investigations Officer I assisted customers to resolve complaints with energy providers in line with the EWON case resolution process. I worked for specialist teams on various Issues: high bills; network damage to property claims; water, gas and electricity networks; credit default listings and privacy breaches. I was an emergency warden and member of the Environment & Sustainability Committee. I conducted presentations and gave advice at community and outreach events. Show less

• 

  NSW Small Business Commissioner

  Aug 2016 - May 2020

  • Advisor

    Jan 2019 - May 2020

  • Mediation Officer

    Aug 2016 - May 2020
• 

  Department of Regional NSW

  May 2020 - Jun 2020

  Policy Officer

  Working in the Division of Mining, Exploration and Geoscience, Resources Policy, Planning and Programs unit.

• 

  NSW Department of Planning and Environment

  Jun 2020 - now

  Policy Officer