An acclaimed expert in sports law, Gallen is taking over as the chief executive at the National Sports Tribunal (NST), an organisation that provides independent sports dispute resolution, including in anti-doping rule violations, eligibility disputes, bullying, and discrimination.

She is due to start her new position on September 18.

While her decision to leave is nothing to do with the situation, news of Gallen’s departure comes shortly after World Aquatics threatened Swimming Australia with the removal of its membership due to multiple compliance issues, including a lack of athlete voting power on its Board.

Swimming Australia has called a special general meeting for October 20 to vote on changes to its Constitution, which aims to "modernise changes and governance of the organisation."

If changes are not voted through, then Australia could be banned from competing under its own flag at major events, including Paris 2024.

Australia won 13 golds in swimming at this year's World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka and finished second in the overall medal table across all the disciplines.

The success came despite the governance issues at Swimming Australia which has seen John Bertrand, Kieren Perkins, Tracy Stockwell and Gallen serve in the role of President.

During the same period, Leigh Russell, Alex Baumann and Eugenie Buckley have all served as chief executives at Swimming Australia.

Steve Newman is currently serving as acting chief executive pending the search for a permanent replacement.

The high turnover of senior officials has also caused concerns at World Aquatics.

Gallen takes over at the NST from Kitty Chiller, who had been serving as the organisation’s acting chief executive despite having been sanctioned by the International Gymnastics Federation for her role in "judging irregularities" at a qualification event for the re-arranged 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

"It has been an honour to be President of Swimming Australia and serve the broader swimming community, from the grassroots through to the elite level," Gallen said.

"Watching our swimmers dominate at the recent World Aquatics Championships and Para Swimming World Championships made Australia extremely proud and will help inspire the next generation of swimmers.

"It was a difficult decision but I’m excited to be pursuing my other passion of sports law at the National Sports Tribunal.

"I will be watching with great investment and interest as our swimmers continue their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics."