Topic: Finding a Way, seeking the Truth, and Living Life
Dress: Professional Attire
RSVP: Tuesday 17 June 2025
Topic: Finding a Way, seeking the Truth, and Living Life
Graham started his legal career in 1984 as a law clerk, was admitted as a solicitor in 1990, and has since practised in most areas of law.
He has appeared in Federal and State Courts, both instructing Barristers and as a Solicitor Advocate. Graham is an accredited specialist in Commercial Litigation, and he has developed specialised knowledge and experience in Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution, particularly as a mediator.
Graham is a Life Member of the Association of Apex Clubs and was a former Board Member of the Specialist Accreditation Board of the Law Society of New South Wales for 12 years. He is the current President of The Illawarra Connection, a networking group for professionals, business leaders, and entrepreneurs that service the Illawarra.
Graham has helped establish a number of charities, has been a director of the Wollongong Hawks and is a former director, Company Secretary, and President of Basketball Illawarra.
In 2024 Graham was diagnosed as having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which is more commonly known as Motor Neurone Disease. It is a progressive degenerative disease that causes motor neurones to die, muscles to waste away, loss of motor function and ultimately, death. Stephen Hawking is the most famous person with ALS.
The average life expectancy of ALS patients is 2-5 years after diagnosis.
Obviously such a disease casts a shadow over the life of those with it. Graham is learning all he can about possible causes and strategies he can take to slow or reverse the condition by finding a Way, seeking the Truth, and living Life.
Born in the UK and raised, educated and based in the Illawarra, Graham is married to Catherine, has two adult children and is, arguably, the number one supporter of the 2025 NBL champions, the Illawarra Hawks!
Catholic Business Connections (CBC) is an opportunity for professional and business women and men in our diocese (active and retired) who share common values, to network and engage with each other and leaders representing the diocese. CBC gathers three times a year for lunch and to listen to guest speakers chosen to inspire with their unique story and share how they relate their work and spiritual life experience to the context of living in a modern world. Members are also invited to attend Bishop Brian’s End of Year Thank You Gathering.
Account means the account held at your financial institution from which we are authorised to arrange for funds to be debited.
Agreement means this Direct Debit Request Service Agreement between you and us, including the direct debit request.
Business day means a day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or a listed public holiday.
Debit day means the day that payment is due.
Debit payment means a particular transaction where a debit is made, according to your direct debit request.
Direct debit request means the Direct Debit Request between us and you.
Us and we and our means the Catholic Development Fund.
You means the customer(s) who signed the direct debit request. Your financial institution is the financial institution where you hold the account that you have authorised us to arrange to debit.
Debiting your account
By submitting a direct debit request, you have authorised us to arrange for funds to be debited from your account according to the agreement we have with you.
We will only arrange for funds to be debited from your account:
As authorised in the direct debit request; if the debit day falls on a day that is not a business day, we may direct your financial institution to debit your account on the following or previous business day. If you are unsure about which day your account has or will be debited, please check with your financial
Changes by you
If you wish to stop or defer a debit payment you must write to us at least 5 business days before the next debit day.
This notice should be given to us in the first instance.
Your obligations
It is your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient clear funds available in your account to allow a debit payment to be made.
If there are insufficient clear funds available in your account to meet a debit payment:
you or your account may be charged a fee and/or interest by your financial institution;
you or your account may be charged a fee to reimburse us for charges we have incurred for the failed transaction;
you must arrange for the payment to be made by another method
Please check your account statement to verify that the amounts debited from your account are correct.
Dispute
If you believe that there has been an error in debiting your account you should call us on (02) 4222 2444 and confirm the details in writing with us as soon as possible so that we can resolve your query quickly.
Accounts
You should check:
with your financial institution whether direct debiting is available from your accounts offered by financial
your account details which you have provided to us are correct by checking them against a recent account statement; and
with your financial institution before completing the direct debit request if you have any queries about how to complete the direct debit
Warning: if the account number you have quoted is incorrect, you may be charged a fee to reimburse our costs in correcting any deductions from:
an account you do not have authority to operate; or
an account you do not
Confidentiality
We will keep any information (including your account details) in your direct debit request confidential.
We will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information that we have about you secure and to ensure that any of our employees or agents who have access to information about you, do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information.
However, we may use your contact details to provide information about the fund. Should you wish this not to be the case, please advise the fund in writing.
Disclosure statement
The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Wollongong (the Fund) is required by law to make the following disclosure: The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for investors to support the charitable, religious and education works of the Diocese of Wollongong and for whom the consideration of profit are not of primary relevance in the investment decision. The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and any investment of the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed at www.cdfwollongong.org.au or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.
Our diocesan logo is theologically rich and very succinct. As a hand, it depicts our mission as a diocese and as individuals within the diocese, of bearing (bringing, carrying) Christ’s love to one another and to the world around us. In this, we are the hand of Jesus Christ, and we are offering ourselves to him so that he might work through us.
We can be the bearers of his love only as a response to his call and in the strength of his grace. We are reminded of this in two ways—through the symbol of the dove (the Holy Spirit) also present in the logo, and by the incorporation of the cross that segments the logo. The presence of the cross is a reminder that bearing the love of Christ will inevitably cost us if we live it authentically. However, in the way that the Cross is the portent of redemption and life—an echo of the tree of life in the book of Genesis—so becoming bearers of the love of Christ will also bring us to life.
The four fingers of the hand also represent the four regions of our diocese. The first is bluerepresenting the beautiful water of the Shoalhaven. The second is a blue and green combination representing the waters and escarpment of the Illawarra. The third is greendepicting the hills and plains of the Macarthur. The fourth is dark green illustrating the forests of the Southern Highlands.
