Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) held its Annual General Meeting on 29 November 2025, with 16 candidates vying for 7 board positions. We used Opavote to manage the election process and, after the processing of preferences, we welcome the re-appointment of our existing board members and the appointment of 5 new board members for 2025/2026. Thank you to those who participated in the nomination process but missed out on being selected. We appreciate your passion for supporting digital rights.
Board Members Re-elected
Congratulations to the following members on their re-election:
- Gillian Dempsey
- Shaun Branden (also our Public Officer)
New Board Members Elected
Congratulations to the following members on their election:
- Julian Watchorn
- Brenda Van Benthem
- Kirsten Frederiksen
- Perryn Fowler
- Warren McHugh
2025/2026 Executive Officers
Congratulations to the following board members on their appointment to Executive Officer roles:
- John Pane – Chair
- Julian Watchorn – Vice Chair
- Andrew Scott – Secretary
- Brenda Van Benthem – Treasurer
Farewells
Farewell to the following directors who rolled off the EFA board this year: Kiki Fong Lim, Bianca Gay, Andrew Roffey, Ross Floate, and Jarrod Loidl. Every one of those board members made an important contribution to EFA by giving their time, passion and skill to advance digital rights and helping to keep the wheels turning.
New Board Member Profile
We would like to introduce you to our new board members. Please take a look at their brief bios.
Julian Watchorn – Vice Chair
Julian is a clinical psychologist and governance practitioner based in Tasmania, with experience across child and family services, advocacy organisations, and government advisory panels. Julian’s work focuses on the intersection between human rights, privacy, digital inclusion, and the public systems people rely on, especially for vulnerable families and carers navigating complex services.
Julian joined EFA because digital rights aren’t just technical considerations anymore; they are becoming central to protecting safety, autonomy, and fair access to opportunity. Julian is particularly concerned about identity-based surveillance, inequitable access to essential digital services, and the unintended harms that can arise when online safety policy is designed without the voices of people with lived experience. Julian hopes to contribute to EFA’s work on privacy reform, rights-based governance, digital inclusion, and policy advocacy for communities that are often under-represented in digital debates, including young people, carers, neurodivergent individuals, and people experiencing disadvantage or marginalisation.
Julian’s aspiration is for an Australia where digital rights are treated with the same seriousness as physical rights. They should be private, safe, equitable, and free from coercive or discriminatory design.
“A funny fact about me, when I’m not talking digital ethics, I produce ambient electronic music, enjoyed mostly by houseplants.”
Brenda Van Bethem – Treasurer
Brenda Van Benthem brings a multidisciplinary background in geology, engineering, finance, and project management to her role as Treasurer on the Electronic Frontier Australia Board.
With experience spanning the mining and petroleum sectors, as well as financial stewardship in not‑for‑profit community organisations, she offers a strong foundation in accountability, risk management, and transparent governance.
Brenda’s commitment to digital rights is grounded in her belief that individuals deserve clarity, protection, and agency in an increasingly data‑driven world. She is dedicated to open communication and collaborative decision‑making, and looks forward to supporting EFA’s mission, strengthening organisational resilience, and building trust with its members and stakeholders.
Kirsten Frederiksen
Kirsten joins the EFA Board, bringing her dual background in law and computer science. With over 12 years of experience as a commercial lawyer – including roles as Data Protection Officer for the BBC in the UK and General Counsel for an Australian tech start-up – she specialises in the intersection of technology, privacy, and policy. Currently, she is hands-on in the development of agentic AI tools for the legal sector.
Motivated by a belief that regulation must be technically grounded to be effective, Kirsten aims to bridge the communication gap between lawmakers and the tech community. Her interest in advocacy focuses on the “right to tinker” and remix culture, AI safety and governance, and protection against online harassment. She looks forward to helping the EFA champion digital rights that protect individual liberties while encouraging responsible innovation.
Kirsten asked Gemini (Google’s AI) for an amusing fact about her, and it said, “You manage an extremely comprehensive and systematic spreadsheet for tracking Christmas and birthday gifts, which could be seen as funny or endearing.”
Perryn Fowler
Perryn Fowler is a software engineer and security nerd who’s been active in Australia’s tech community for years. He’s worked across engineering, architecture, and product development, usually trying to make systems more secure, more reliable, or at least slightly less chaotic.
Perryn joined the EFA Board because we’re at a moment where the internet’s long history of successful self-regulation is starting to falter, and governments and organisations are scrambling to respond. He believes it’s crucial that these efforts are effective without throwing out the baby with the bathwater, and that groups like EFA will play an important role in making sure we get that balance right. He’s particularly interested in encryption, privacy, and the growing influence of algorithms on everyday life, and hopes to help make complex digital rights issues easier for people to understand.
Warren McHugh
Warren McHugh is a security leader and privacy advocate who has built both his career and personal life around the belief that privacy is a fundamental human right. He values privacy so deeply that he has deliberately kept his digital footprint as small as possible, rigorously safeguarding personal information and practicing what he preaches. However, with the erosion of privacy reaching a critical threshold, Warren recognises that defending these rights now means stepping out from behind the veil he has built. He is prepared to sacrifice some of his own privacy to ensure future generations can uphold their rights and enjoy the benefits of a truly free and open digital society.
Warren is committed to supporting new digital rights defenders, sharing his lived experience, and sparking meaningful conversations about everyday privacy. Often using humour to engage others (e.g., playfully declining to give his name at a café: “I’m flattered, but I am married. Just an order number will be fine.”). These small moments raise awareness and spark conversations about privacy in daily life.
On the EFA board, Warren draws on practical expertise in cybersecurity strategy and consulting, including hands-on penetration testing for traditional and AI-driven systems across Australia.
Fun fact: Warren’s online footprint is so thin, even targeted ads have given up trying to find him.
Looking Ahead
There is so much going on right now. The “Social Media Ban We Had To Have” just hit, leaving LGTBIQ+, remote, disabled, and other vulnerable kids in the lurch. Privacy law reform is in jeopardy with the Productivity Commission calling for weaker privacy laws! Albo reckons let it rip when it comes to unregulated AI, the Trump administration is foisting US tech on the rest of the world (or else!), and eSafety is putting coal in our stockings this year by cracking down on access to adult content with its Internet Search Engine Industry Code. And don’t forget the turd that was the Freedom of Information Act amendment bill.
With so much going on, the new board and extra hands bring fresh momentum to drive our activities forward! We can’t wait!
Still, we need your help to continue with our advocacy. Please consider donating to help us reach more people and make a greater impact. Donate here.