Dr John Byrne AM was appointed acting commissioner of the Equal Opportunity Commission in Western Australia in 2016.
Dr Byrne was director of corporate services at the Department of Parks and Wildlife where he developed and implemented strategies aimed at improving the employment opportunities for Indigenous people. One initiative, a mentored Aboriginal employment and training scheme, was recognised with a Premier’s Award. He also had a key role in improvements to access to parks and recreation facilities for people with mobility disabilities.
Dr Byrne has been profoundly deaf since he was a child, due to inheriting ostosclerosis, although he had normal hearing until he was eight years old. He has been an advocate for people with disabilities and was involved in advocating the State’s Equal Opportunity Act 1984 be extended to include disability.
He was an inaugural member of the Ministerial Advisory Council for Disability Services in 1991 and served a second term in 1999.
In 2020, Dr Byrne was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and to social justice.
