Dr Tony McAvoy SC
Wirdi man from Central QLD and Australia's first Indigenous Senior Counsel

Dr Tony McAvoy SC is a Wirdi man from Central Queensland and Australia's first Indigenous Senior Counsel, appointed in 2015.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws from QUT and Doctors of Laws (Honoris Causa) from both QUT and UTS. His legal career spans more than 40 years having commenced as a law clerk at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service in Brisbane in 1983. He was called to the bar in Sydney in 2000 and has since developed a practice in native title, land rights, treaty, truth telling, inquests, inquiries, human rights, environmental law, and criminal law.

Tony has represented numerous First Nations communities in landmark native title claims and served in roles such as Acting Northern Territory Treaty Commissioner, Acting Commissioner on the NSW Land and Environment Court, and Commissioner of the NSW Independent Planning Commission. He was Co-Senior Counsel assisting the Don Dale Royal Commission in the Northern Territory in 2016/2017, and the Co-Senior Counsel Assisting the Yoorrook Justice Commission in Victoria between 2021 and 2025.

He delivered the Charles Perkins Memorial Oration in 2021, was a member of the Referendum Working Group. He currently holds an appointment as a Part-Time Commissioner on the Australian Law Reform Commission where was co-lead on the inquiry into the reform of the Native Title Act (1993). He is the Chairperson of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Corporation and a director on the board of the Council of First Nations.