Following our announcement of the Women in Defence Awards 2026 finalists, ADM will be introducing each of our amazing finalists across the categories in more detail. Today we are focusing on the finalists in our Legal and Contracting category.
In this category, judges were looking for entries that exhibited outstanding success in legal/contracting matters in 2025. The finalists in this category all demonstrate this level of success, with additional evidence of having overcome personal or professional challenges to do so and for the impact their success had on the wider Defence and industry community.
The winners and Hall of Fame inductee will be announced at a gala dinner at The National Arboretum, Canberra, on 29 October 2026. Book your tickets here – we hope to see you there!
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Alicia Irving In 2025, Alicia showed exceptional leadership by strategically expanding March on Legal across Australia with additional services of Mediation and Conveyancing, ensuring veterans and serving members nationwide had access to comprehensive legal care while maintaining her "law with empathy" philosophy. She simultaneously held roles as a Principal Solicitor, Army Officer, judicial Sessional Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and as a Board Director for the Services Personnel Anglican Help Society. |
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Anthea Koerbin
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Claire led the recovery, redesign and execution of the C-130J Hercules sustainment procurement, navigating significant legal, commercial and organisational challenges to achieve the successful release of a legally robust and market-credible Request for Tender. She faced significant legal and contracting challenges that went well beyond routine sustainment procurement. This included reconciling legacy contractual risk, managing heightened probity and assurance expectations, and negotiating Defence objectives within a constrained and risk‑averse industry market. |
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Jasmine Chen During 2025, Jasmine was the lead legal negotiator on the successful negotiation and eventual award of the $1.5 billion Defence Theatre Logistics Contract. She was instrumental in achieving a commercially balanced outcome through effective risk allocation and the resolution of complex issues, while ensuring value-for-money for Defence. She supported the shipment of M1A1 Abrams tanks from Australia to Ukraine and played a key role in negotiating the East Arm Wharf berthing contract. |
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| Penelope Twemlow Chief Operations Officer Phinteq Penelope made a significant contribution to Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine capability as an Expert Adviser to the Australian Submarine Agency and as a contractor drafting the nuclear-powered submarine legislation for the Australian Naval Nuclear Powered Submarine Regulator. She led work associated with nuclear safeguards and safety and defence seaworthiness, coordinating with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. |
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Sonia Clark In 2025, Sonia led the end-to-end negotiation and establishment of Ocius Technology’s first Program of Record contract, with a value of $176 million. This entailed not only external negotiations with Defence and industry partners, but also significant internal transformation. The negotiations placed significant demands on a lean, engineering-focused organisation that traditionally prioritised agility over formal governance and documentation. Sonia bridged a material capability gap in parallel with live negotiations. |
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