Bill was born in Cooma and
undertook schooling in Griffith NSW.
He graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1968 and was
allocated to infantry in the Royal Australian Regiment.
He served as a platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion in South Vietnam
where he was seriously wounded on operations.
His wounds resulted in amputation of both legs below the knee.
He was mentioned in despatches
for his service.
He undertook
retraining at the Australian National University and continued his military
career in the Australian Army Legal Corps. He subsequently served as Director
Army Legal Services and Director General Defence Force Legal Services before
retirement in the rank of Brigadier in 1992.
In 1993 he joined the
Commonwealth Attorney General’s Legal Practice and worked in the then National
Security Branch. In 1997 he was
appointed to head the Veterans’ Review Board, an independent statutory tribunal
responsible for review of Repatriation Commission decisions on entitlement to
and assessment of disability pensions.
He resigned from that position in January 2007 to take up an appointment
as a Member of the Repatriation Commission and Member of the Military
Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission, retiring in July 2010. He served on
the Commonwealth Administrative Review Council 2007 - 2010. He was appointed as
an Officer in the General Division of the Order of
He is married to Joan
Susanne, his wife of over 40 years, and has three children.
Bill is a graduate
of:
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He was a recipient of
a Churchill Fellowship for overseas study in 1976.
The Governor-General appointed Brigadier Rolfe as a Member of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal for a period of 3 years commencing on 29 September 2011.
