With over 30 years of experience in family law, Sally is known for providing compassionate, practical, and results-focused advice during some of life’s most challenging transitions. Recognising that family law matters can be both emotionally taxing and financially significant, Sally takes a calm and strategic approach, to help you navigate complex issues with clarity, confidence, and sensitivity. Sally works closely with you to negotiate and resolve disputes as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, ideally through mediation or conferences without court intervention while providing support every step of the way.
Sally is experienced in all aspects of family law, including parenting matters, property matters, spousal maintenance, child support and complex relationship disputes and has a particular interest in relocation matters. Sally regularly appears in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and has decades of negotiating experience in court conferences and private mediations.
Prior to joining Schetzer Papaleo Family Lawyers, Sally was a Partner at Wallace Wilkinson & Webster in Hobart, where she built a highly respected family law practice.
A component of Sally’s practice has involved appointments as an Independent Children’s Lawyer, a role she has undertaken since first being appointed to the panel in 2000.
Sally is an active contributor to the legal profession and has served on a number of professional committees, including the Family Law Practitioners Association of Tasmania, the Family Law Committee and the Wellbeing Committee of the Law Society of Tasmania. She is also a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Sally has been recognised in the Doyle’s Guide as either a Leading or Recommended Family Lawyer in each year since 2020.
In 2026, Sally was also recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for Family Law. She was acknowledged in The Mercury as one of only 16 Tasmanian lawyers to receive national recognition — a reflection of her depth of experience, professionalism and dedication to achieving the best possible outcomes for her clients.
In her downtime Sally tends to battle her garden, which is determined to become a forest, but inside keeps a slightly more cooperative collective of house plants alive and thriving.