Kathryn Chadwick

QUEENSLAND

Blair Candidate

Roots in Rural Queensland

Kathryn was born in Ipswich and raised on her family farm in Coleyville, at the foothills of Mount Walker in Queensland’s Scenic Rim. A proud fourth-generation Australian, her family’s heritage traces back to Mount Alford, Boonah, and Charleville.

Education & Professional Background

Kathryn completed her secondary education in Ipswich and Townsville before earning a Bachelor of Nursing at the Australian Catholic University. She later pursued a Bachelor of Laws at the Queensland University of Technology. Before entering the legal profession, Kathryn worked as a Registered Nurse for eight years in both public and private hospitals across South East Queensland and the United Kingdom.

Military Service & Legal Career

A graduate of the Royal Military College Duntroon, Kathryn served as a Nursing Officer with the Royal Australian Army, continuing her family’s strong military tradition—three of her grandparents served in the Second World War, and her father in the Vietnam War. For the past seven years, Kathryn has practised as a solicitor in Queensland, with the highlight of her legal career being her work with the Defence and Veterans Legal Service. In this role, she supported Australian Defence Force personnel, veterans, and their families in sharing their experiences with the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

Commitment to Veterans & National Values

Kathryn is a passionate advocate for ADF personnel, veterans, and their families. She believes in protecting their sacrifices and ensuring they receive the recognition and support they deserve. Like many Australians, Kathryn is deeply concerned about the direction of the country and is committed to realigning the nation with its core values of freedom, respect, fairness, and equal opportunity—values that align with the policies of the Gerard Rennick People First Party.

Family & Community

Kathryn and her husband Nathan, a Station Officer with the Queensland Fire Department, are raising their young family in the western suburbs of South East Queensland.

Those who were fortunate enough to survive the Great War, returned home to Australia, many were wounded, physically and mentally. These men and women became our first recognised concept of a Veteran. Our Veterans.

They returned home and went back to their families and made families; they went back to turning over soil on their family farms and growing and producing the nation’s food. They went back to the factories and councils, and they continued building our nation’s infrastructure. They went back to educating the next generation of Australians. They went back to life and got on with life – because that is what they had to do. There was no other option. They approached life after War with that same sense of courage, determination and hard work.

KATHRYN CHADWICK

Professional History

Lawyer

2018 – to date (resigned 4 April, from Legal Aid, to contest Federal Election 2025)
Private practice and Legal Aid Queensland (Defence & Veterans Legal Service and Mental Health Court team)

Areas of practise:

Royal Commisions, including the Royal Commison into Defence and Veteran Suicide and the Royal Commsion into Aged Care Quality and Safety;
Representation of people in the Mental Health Court who have a psychiatric or intellectual disbaility;
Criminal Defence Law;
Child Protection Law;
Family Law;
Employment, Industrial Relations and Disciplinary Law

Nurse

2004 – 2013
Mater Private Hospital, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Royal Marsden Hospital, Australian Army, Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital

Areas of practise:

Neurosurgical and Orthopaedic Trauma Perioperative Nurse;
Lieutenant Nursing Officer with the Australian Army – Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps.

Qualifications

Media

Kathryn announces Blair intention – Ipswich News
Defence personnel and veterans rush to beat Royal Commission deadline
Defence & Veterans Legal Service – Newsletter issue 7 February 2023
Defence & Veterans Legal Service – Stories from the Frontline – Episode 3, Kat Starkey

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