Natalie Sheridan-Smith

Since her admission in 2002 Natalie has undertaken a variety of defence and public prosecution roles with government agencies requiring daily appearances in court proceedings including:

• 2007-2008
  Department Sustainability and Environment – Manager Compliance and Prosecutions Unit. Predominantly Natalie provided policy and legal advice to government and appeared to prosecute environmental regulatory crime including: offences relating to exotic and native wildlife; fire offences; land clearing;civil disturbances; and civil enforcement proceedings in relation to crown land.
• 2006-2007
  Paul Vale Criminal Law – Senior Associate and Solicitor Advocate. Natalie appeared on a daily basis in court for clients involved in contested bail applications, contests, committals and in complex pleas in the Magistrates’ and County Courts.
• 2006
  NT Director of Public Prosecutions – Summary Prosecutions and Circuit Prosecutor
• 2000-2006
  Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (QLD, NT) – Prosecution of Commonwealth summary and indictable offences in all jurisdictions.
• 1997-2000
  NSW Director of Public Prosecutions – Research Officer
• 2006-ongoing
  Royal Australian Air Force Reserve (Specialist Legal Reserve) – Natalie is involved in providing advice to defence members and superior officers and representing defence members in relation to criminal and disciplinary proceedings, administrative law, international humanitarian law.

• 2011 – 2017 Leo Cussen Institute
  Sessional instructor in advocacy, criminal law and procedure, civil law and procedure and a number of other areas of law.

• Chapman’s List Barristers Committee – Secretary
• Children’s Court Bar Association – Secretary

Previously:

• VicBar Duty Barristers Committee Member
• VicBar Continuing Professional Development Committee Member

• 2015 – Successfully prosecuted the first drug importer approached via “spam” email: Afford v The Queen which was upheld on appeal to the High Court in Smith v The Queen; The Queen v Afford[2017] HCA 19 (10 May 2017)
• 2011 to 2015 – Successfully prosecuted numerous individuals involved in two large scale drug importation / trafficking syndicates: Operation Rattlesnake and Operation Ripsaw.
• 2010 – Successfully conducted a pre-trial voir dire concerning unreliable admissions made by an accused in relation to a serious armed robbery resulting in the Prosecution withdrawing all charges.
• 2009 – Appeared before the Municipal Electoral Tribunal to successfully establish impropriety on the part of a local council and candidate in the local council election in 2008 which ultimately resulted in legislative changes to introduce penalties for such impropriety.
• 2008 – Royal Commission into Black Saturday Bushfires – assisted key witnesses to draft statements and appear before the Royal Commission
• 2007 – Appeared for a Japanese student, Takuya Muto, in one of the first and widely reported ‘up- skirting’ incidents at a Melbourne back-packers hostel and the Australian Open.
• 2005 – Represented the fourth traditional law wife of Galurrway Yunupingu in contested intervention order proceedings in Nhulunbuy (Gove) in the Northern
  Territory
• 2003 – Prosecuted an American tourist for breaching the confines of the Yongala Wreck off Townsville (QLD) contrary to the Historic Shipwrecks Act which was of particular interest to the international SCUBA diving industry

• VicBar Duty Barristers Scheme participant.
• Natalie also accepts briefs from PILCH and other pro bono organisations in a wide variety of matters.

• 2010
  Women Lawyers Achievement Awards (Victoria) – Nominated for Mentoring
• 2000
  Director’s Excellence Awards (ODPP(NSW)) – Guideline Judgments Team which involved researching and preparing statistics, schedules and submissions for presentation to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal to establish a structured sentencing regime.
• 2000
  Director’s Excellence Awards (ODPP(NSW)) – Research Unit for contribution and dedication as a member of the Research Unit which established a new legal research database for the organisation.