The Torres Strait Islander man, whose mother hails from St Paul’s on Moa Island, was appointed by Attorney General and Minister for Justice Shannon Fentiman as part of the Queensland Government’s response to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce’s first Hear Her Voice report.

“Too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to come into contact with our justice system as offenders and are disproportionately represented in our prison population,” Fentiman said.

“The first priority for Stephen and his team will be to lead the development of a whole-of-government and community strategy to address this issue, to be co-designed in partnership with First Nations communities’ leaders and organisations.

“The office will also be responsible for leading reforms including improving the cultural capability of the justice system and engaging with First Nations communities about their experiences in the justice system.”

Tillett comes to the role with more than 20 years’ experience with the Queensland Police Service serving in communities across far north Queensland, including Cape York and the Torres Strait.

“During this time, he managed important local crime prevention and safety initiatives including with the award-winning Speak Up, Be Strong, Be Heard child protection project, aimed at increasing community awareness of youth sexual violence and abuse within far north Queensland,” Fentiman said.

“As project manager for the Cairns Safer Streets initiative, he was part of a multi-disciplinary team of Queensland Government agencies working to deliver a local response to help improve community safety in west Cairns.”

Tillett has also held senior positions within the Department of Justice and Attorney-General, including working on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice programs in the Courts Innovation Program.

More recently he was in leadership roles with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Housing in the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy, and in Queensland Health where he worked on the First Nations Health Equity Strategy.

“Additionally, Stephen has been a member of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel, which provides expert advice to the council in its work to understand and address disproportionate representation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system,” Fentiman said.

He has also been a volunteer director for the Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club and member of the Queensland Rugby League Indigenous Advisory Committee and Australian Rugby League Indigenous Council.

He played professionally with the North Queensland Cowboys from 1995-1996.