Stephen Hardy
Director, Ethical Standards Unit, Queensland Health

Stephen Hardy has extensive experience in criminal law practice and the conduct of investigations in the public sector.

First employed at the Department of Justice, Mr Hardy transferred to the then Office of the Crown Prosecutor (now DPP) as a law clerk while studying for his bachelor of laws. In this role, Mr Hardy assisted the state’s most senior Crown Prosecutors in the preparation of numerous complex prosecutions in all jurisdictions. He was admitted to practice as a barrister in 1988. He holds Bachelor degrees in Law and Business.

Mr Hardy later worked for several years as a criminal defence solicitor, firstly as an associate solicitor at a leading Gold Coast firm and later as a juvenile justice advocate and representative.

Joining the then Criminal Justice Commission in 1996, Mr Hardy worked in several Executive Legal Officer roles including as a leader of multidisciplinary teams conducting complex and sensitive investigations of suspected official misconduct in the public sector and the Queensland Police Service (QPS).

Following the formation of the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) in 2001, Mr Hardy was responsible for monitoring and reviewing the management of complaints referred by the CMC to Queensland public sector agencies and the QPS.

In 2006, Mr Hardy took up a position with Queensland Health as Director of the Ethical Standards Unit. This position is responsible for reporting and managing complaints of suspected official misconduct within Queensland Health, a Department employing approximately 68,000 staff delivering a broad range of health services in a diverse range of workplace environments.