Mō Mātou
About us

Sue Barker

Sue is the recipient of the 2019 New Zealand Law Foundation’s International Research Fellowship Te Karapihi Rangahau ā Taiao – New Zealand’s premier legal research award that provides recipients with up to $125,000 for study that will make a significant contribution to New Zealand law. 

Sue is a director of the Charity Law Association of Australia and New Zealand and a member of the Core Reference Group for the Government’s review of the Charities Act 2005. Sue is also a co-author of the text The Law and Practice of Charities in New Zealand (LexisNexis, 2013) and a contributor to Regulating Charities: the Inside Story (Routledge, 2017). 

In 2016, Sue was made an Honorary National Life Member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand Incorporated Te Kauhinera Wahine o Aotearoa for her work assisting the Council to regain their registered charitable status. 

While on the Fellowship, Sue took a 2-year sabbatical from her legal practice, Sue Barker Charities Law, a boutique law firm specialising in charities law and public tax law. Working at the coalface on a daily basis with the Charities Act in its current form has been a key motivator for Sue to try to get a better legal framework for New Zealand’s charities.

Tessa Vincent

Tessa is based in Wellington and is assisting Sue with charities law research two days a week. She has a BA/LLB (Hons) and has worked across New Zealand’s three branches of government for Judges, Members of Parliament and a Minister. Tessa wrote her Honours dissertation in charity law entitled “An uncharitable appeal framework for charities: is it time for a Charity Tribunal?”. She is currently a Trustee for Kaibosh Food Rescue and the Social Change Collective. 

Tessa wants to see the value of the charitable sector properly recognised. Her long-term vision is that everyone has four-day weeks, so that time can be spent in the community, working alongside charities.