Coral Shaw

Shaw was born in 1947,^[1] the daughter of Wilson and May Dodds.^[2][3] She grew up in Lyttelton, where her parents owned a drapery.^[4] She was educated at Lyttelton Main School, where she was dux in 1959, and Christchurch Girls' High School, and then spent a year volunteering in the Solomon Islands, before going to university.^[4][5] She was the first in her family to get a university degree, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury in 1969,^[6] and then trained and worked as a teacher.^[4] Shaw completed a law degree at the University of Auckland, and worked as a Crown solicitor.^[4]

From 1992 to 1999, Shaw was a District Court judge in West Auckland, where she introduced a fast-track system for family violence cases and established the WAVES Trust system that coordinates services for both victims and offenders, and developed several judicial education programmes.^[7] She also introduced restorative justice processes, working with Hoani Waititi Marae.^[4]

In 1999, Shaw became the first woman to be appointed a judge of the Employment Court, serving until 2009. In 2009, she was appointed a judge of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal, and served in that role until 2016.^[7]

Shaw led reviews of Fire and Emergency New Zealand and of the Human Rights Commission.^[7] She chaired the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions from 2019 to 2024.^[7][1]

In the 2026 New Year Honours, Shaw was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit,^[8][9] "for services to public service, the judiciary and the community".^[7] When interviewed on the radio about the honour, Shaw took the opportunity to announce her second retirement.^[9] She had previously tried to retire before being appointed to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in Care.^[1][10]