List of judges of the Federal Court of Australia

This is a list of Judges who have served on the Federal Court of Australia.

In addition to their judicial service, six judges of the Federal Court have also been elected to the Parliament of Australia: Nigel Bowen, Robert Ellicott, Merv Everett, Tony Whitlam, John Reeves and Duncan Kerr. All were elected prior to their appointment to the bench.

Additionally, two judges of the Federal Court have served in state Parliaments: Bernard Riley, formerly of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and Howard Olney, formerly of the Western Australian Legislative Council.

Chief Justices

Name	Appointment commenced	Appointment ended	Term as Chief Justice	Comments	Notes
Bowen, NigelSir Nigel Bowen AC, KBE, QC	20 December 1976	31 December 1990	14 years, 11 days		[1]
Black, MichaelMichael Black AC, QC	1 January 1991	21 March 2010	19 years, 79 days		[2]
Keane, PatrickPatrick Keane AC, QC	22 March 2010	28 February 2013	2 years, 343 days	Appointed to the High Court	[3][4]
Allsop, JamesJames Allsop AO, QC	1 March 2013	incumbent	3 years, 281 days		[5]

Judges (including Chief Justices)

Name	Appointment commenced	Appointment ended	70th birthday[6]	Term in office	Comments	Notes
Bowen, NigelSir Nigel Bowen AC, KBE, QC	20 December 1976	31 December 1990	26 May 1981	14 years, 11 days	as Chief Justice	[7]
Blackburn, RichardSir Richard Blackburn OBE	1 February 1977	31 March 1985	26 July 1988	8 years, 58 days
Brennan, GerardSir Gerard Brennan AC, KBE, QC		12 February 1981	22 May 1988	4 years, 11 days	Appointed to the High Court
Connor, XavierXavier Connor AO, QC		17 March 1982	12 December 1987	5 years, 44 days
Evatt, PhillipPhillip Evatt DSC		28 February 1987		10 years, 27 days
Forster, WilliamSir William Forster AC, KBE, QC		31 January 1989	15 June 1991	11 years, 365 days
Franki, RobertRobert Franki		5 August 1986		9 years, 185 days
Fox, RussellRussell Fox AC, QC		31 March 1989		12 years, 58 days
Keely, JohnJohn Keely QC		29 February 1996		19 years, 28 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Muirhead, JamesJames Muirhead AC, KStJ, QC		4 August 1986	24 April 1995	9 years, 184 days
Nimmo, JohnSir John Nimmo CBE, OStJ, QC		30 June 1980		3 years, 150 days
Northrop, RayRay Northrop QC		31 August 1998		21 years, 211 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Riley, BernardBernard Riley		4 August 1978		1 year, 184 days
Smithers, ReginaldSir Reginald Smithers		30 September 1986		9 years, 241 days
St John, RobertRobert St John		31 March 1985		8 years, 58 days
Sweeney, CharlesCharles Sweeney CBE		29 June 1995		18 years, 148 days
Sweeney, JohnJohn Sweeney		7 May 1981		4 years, 95 days
Ward, RichardRichard Ward QC		24 November 1977		296 days
Woodward, EdwardSir Edward Woodward AC, OBE, QC		31 July 1990		13 years, 180 days
Deane, WilliamSir William Deane AC, KBE, QC	1 April 1977	26 July 1982		5 years, 116 days	Appointed to the High Court
Toohey, JohnJohn Toohey AC, QC	4 April 1977	31 December 1986		9 years, 271 days	Appointed to the High Court
McGregor, DouglasDouglas McGregor AC, QC	7 November 1977	14 November 1985		8 years, 7 days
Fisher, FrancisFrancis Fisher AC, QC	6 March 1978	31 July 1989		11 years, 147 days
Gallop, JohnJohn Gallop AM, RFD, QC	11 March 1978	30 July 2000		22 years, 141 days
Davies, DarylDaryl Davies QC	17 May 1978	31 August 1998		20 years, 106 days
Lockhart, JohnJohn Lockhart AO	30 October 1978	11 June 1999		20 years, 224 days
Sheppard, IanIan Sheppard AO	9 December 1979	23 May 1997		17 years, 165 days
Kelly, JohnJohn Kelly QC	11 March 1980	1 July 1990		10 years, 112 days
Morling, TrevorTrevor Morling QC	11 February 1981	1 February 1993		11 years, 356 days
Ellicot, RobertRobert Ellicot QC	2 March 1981	24 February 1983		1 year, 359 days
Fitzgerald, GeraldGerald Fitzgerald AC, QC	25 November 1981	30 June 1984		2 years, 218 days
Jenkinson, KennethKenneth Jenkinson	1 November 1982	5 June 1997		14 years, 216 days
Neaves, AlanAlan Neaves AC, QC	11 March 1983	8 January 1995		11 years, 303 days
Kirby, MichaelMichael Kirby AC, CMG	30 March 1983	23 September 1984		1 year, 177 days	Appointed to NSW Court of Appeal then to High Court
Beaumont, BryanBryan Beaumont AO	30 May 1983	11 February 2005		21 years, 257 days
Wilcox, MurrayMurray Wilcox AO, QC	11 May 1984	2 October 2006		22 years, 144 days	Chief Justice of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Gray, PeterPeter Gray AM	17 May 1984	17 May 2013		29 years, 0 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Spender, JeffreyJeffrey Spender QC	17 May 1984	19 July 2010		26 years, 63 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Everett, MervMerv Everett	27 June 1984	4 October 1987		3 years, 99 days
Pincus, BillBill Pincus QC	25 March 1985	16 December 1991		6 years, 266 days
Burchett, JamesJames Burchett	3 June 1985	10 October 2000		15 years, 129 days
Miles, JeffreyJeffrey Miles AO	18 June 1985	30 September 2002		17 years, 104 days
Jackson, DavidDavid Jackson AM, QC	15 November 1985	26 May 1987		1 year, 192 days
Ryan, DonnellDonnell Ryan QC	29 September 1986	2 June 2011		24 years, 246 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Gummow, WilliamWilliam Gummow AC, QC	24 November 1986	20 April 1995		8 years, 147 days	Appointed to the High Court
French, RobertRobert French AC	25 November 1986	1 September 2008		21 years, 281 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court Appointed to Chief Justice of the High Court
Einfeld, MarcusMarcus Einfeld	18 December 1986	16 April 2001		14 years, 119 days
Hartigan, TrevorTrevor Hartigan	13 August 1987	24 April 1990		2 years, 254 days
Foster, MichaelMichael Foster QC	2 November 1987	26 November 1998		11 years, 24 days
Nicholson, AlastairAlastair Nicholson AO, RFD	1 February 1988	31 May 2004		16 years, 120 days
Lee, MalcolmMalcolm Lee AO, QC	15 February 1988	1 May 2006		18 years, 75 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Olney, HowardHoward Olney AM, QC	21 May 1988	30 April 2003		14 years, 344 days
von Doussa, JohnJohn von Doussa AO, QC	1 December 1988	15 August 2003		14 years, 257 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Hill, GrahamGraham Hill	1 February 1989	24 August 2005		16 years, 204 days
O'Connor, DeirdreDeirdre O'Connor	1 July 1990	5 March 2002		11 years, 247 days
Phillips, JohnJohn Phillips AO, QC	14 August 1990	17 December 1991		1 year, 125 days
O'Loughlin, MauriceMaurice O'Loughlin	1 August 1989	28 January 2003		13 years, 180 days
Higgins, TerrenceTerrence Higgins AO, QC	1 July 1990	12 September 2013		23 years, 73 days
Heerey, PeterPeter Heerey AM, QC	17 December 1990	16 February 2009		18 years, 61 days
Black, MichaelMichael Black AC, QC	1 January 1991	21 March 2010		19 years, 79 days	As Chief Justice
Drummond, DougDoug Drummond QC	2 December 1991	12 April 2003		11 years, 131 days
Cooper, RichardRichard Cooper	30 March 1992	14 March 2005		12 years, 349 days
Beazley, MargaretMargaret Beazley AO	1 January 1993	28 April 1996		3 years, 118 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Appointed to NSW Court of Appeal
Whitlam, TonyTony Whitlam QC	1 January 1993	1 May 2005		12 years, 120 days
Carr, ChristopherChristopher Carr	13 December 1993	1 August 2004		10 years, 232 days
Moore, MichaelMichael Moore	28 March 1994	1 August 2011		17 years, 126 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Branson, CatherineCatherine Branson QC	16 May 1994	13 October 2008		14 years, 150 days
Mathews, JaneJane Mathews AO	4 July 1994	6 April 2001		6 years, 276 days
Lindgren, KevinKevin Lindgren AM, QC	26 July 1994	12 February 2010		15 years, 201 days
Tamberlin, BrianBrian Tamberlin QC	29 August 1994	30 March 2009		14 years, 213 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Sackville, RonaldRonald Sackville AO, QC	19 September 1994	25 August 2008		13 years, 341 days
Kiefel, SusanSusan Kiefel AC	17 October 1994	3 September 2007		12 years, 321 days	Appointed to the High Court
Nicholson, RobertRobert Nicholson AO	1 January 1995	7 August 2007		12 years, 218 days
Finn, PaulPaul Finn	3 July 1995	4 July 2012		17 years, 1 day
Sundberg, RossRoss Sundberg AM, QC	10 July 1995	9 August 2010		15 years, 30 days
Marshall, ShaneShane Marshall	17 July 1995	21 November 2015		20 years, 127 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court
Lehane, JohnJohn Lehane	3 October 1995	10 September 2001		5 years, 342 days
Madgwick, RodneyRodney Madgwick QC	3 October 1995	21 April 2008		12 years, 201 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
North, AnthonyAnthony North QC	3 October 1995			21 years, 65 days	Judge of Industrial Relations Court Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court	[8]
Merkel, RonRon Merkel QC	5 February 1996	15 May 2006		10 years, 99 days		[7]
Mansfield, JohnJohn Mansfield AM	2 September 1996			20 years, 96 days		[8]
Emmett, ArthurArthur Emmett	3 February 1997	6 March 2013		16 years, 31 days		[7]
Goldberg, AlanAlan Goldberg AO, QC	3 February 1997	4 July 2010		13 years, 151 days
Finkelstein, RaymondRaymond Finkelstein QC	21 July 1997	1 July 2011		13 years, 345 days
Giudice, GeoffreyGeoffrey Giudice AO	17 September 1997	28 February 2012		14 years, 164 days	President of AIRC & then Fair Work Australia
Weinberg, MarkMark Weinberg	15 July 1998	19 July 2008		10 years, 4 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Dowsett, JohnJohn Dowsett AM	14 September 1998			18 years, 84 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court	[8]
Katz, LeslieLeslie Katz SC	30 September 1998	21 March 2002		3 years, 172 days		[7]
Hely, PeterPeter Hely	2 October 1998	1 October 2005		6 years, 364 days
Kenny, SusanSusan Kenny	16 October 1998			18 years, 52 days		[8]
Gyles, RogerRoger Gyles AO, QC	11 June 1999	22 August 2008		9 years, 72 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court	[7]
Conti, RichardRichard Conti QC	15 August 2000	15 August 2007		7 years, 0 days
Stone, MargaretMargaret Stone	9 October 2000	22 March 2012		11 years, 165 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court
Allsop, JamesJames Allsop AO, QC	7 May 2001	2 June 2008		7 years, 26 days	As Justice. Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court Appointed to NSW Court of Appeal returned to court as Chief Justice
Downes, GarryGarry Downes AM	2 April 2002	15 May 2012		10 years, 43 days
Jacobson, PeterPeter Jacobson	17 June 2002			14 years, 173 days		[8]
Selway, BradleyBradley Selway	18 November 2002	10 April 2005		2 years, 143 days		[7]
Bennett, AnnabelleAnnabelle Bennett AO	5 May 2003			13 years, 216 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court	[8]
Lander, BruceBruce Lander	14 July 2003	31 August 2013		10 years, 48 days	Additional Judge of the ACT Supreme Court	[7]
Crennan, SusanSusan Crennan AC	3 February 2004	1 November 2005	1 July 2015	1 year, 271 days	Appointed to the High Court
Siopis, AntonyAntony Siopis	14 April 2005			11 years, 237 days		[8]
Edmonds, RichardRichard Edmonds	5 May 2005			11 years, 216 days
Graham, PeterPeter Graham QC	24 May 2005	6 September 2010		5 years, 105 days		[7]
Greenwood, AndrewAndrew Greenwood	4 August 2005			11 years, 125 days		[8]
Young, JohnJohn Young QC	30 November 2005	24 January 2007		1 year, 55 days		[7]
Rares, StevenSteven Rares	2 February 2006			10 years, 309 days		[8]
Collier, BernaBerna Collier	8 February 2006			10 years, 303 days
Cowdroy, DennisDennis Cowdroy OAM	13 March 2006	15 March 2014		8 years, 2 days		[7]
Besanko, AnthonyAnthony Besanko	3 April 2006			10 years, 248 days		[8]
Jessup, ChristopherChristopher Jessup QC	23 June 2006			10 years, 167 days
Tracey, RichardRichard Tracey AM, RFD	24 July 2006			10 years, 136 days
Middleton, JohnJohn Middleton	7 August 2006			10 years, 122 days
Buchanan, RobertRobert Buchanan QC	8 September 2006	10 September 2016		10 years, 2 days		[7]
Gilmour, JohnJohn Gilmour	11 December 2006			9 years, 362 days		[8]
Gordon, MichelleMichelle Gordon	20 April 2007			9 years, 231 days	Appointed to the High Court
Logan, JohnJohn Logan RFD, SC	27 September 2007			9 years, 71 days
Flick, GeoffreyGeoffrey Flick	15 October 2007			9 years, 53 days
McKerracher, NeilNeil McKerracher	15 October 2007			9 years, 53 days
Reeves, JohnJohn Reeves	15 October 2007			9 years, 53 days
Perram, NyeNye Perram SC	8 August 2008			8 years, 121 days
Jagot, JayneJayne Jagot	3 September 2008			8 years, 95 days
Foster, LindsayLindsay Foster SC	4 September 2008			8 years, 94 days
Barker, MichaelMichael Barker	9 February 2009			7 years, 302 days
Nicholas, JohnJohn Nicholas	16 November 2009			7 years, 21 days
Yates, DavidDavid Yates	30 November 2009			7 years, 7 days
Bromberg, MordecaiMordecai Bromberg	7 December 2009			7 years, 0 days
Dodds-Streeton, JulieJulie Dodds-Streeton QC	1 February 2010	1 April 2014		4 years, 59 days
Katzmann, AnnaAnna Katzmann SC	1 February 2010			6 years, 310 days
Keane, PatrickPatrick Keane AC, QC	22 March 2010	28 February 2013	2 years, 343 days	2 years, 343 days	Appointed to the High Court	[7][4]
Robertson, AlanAlan Robertson	18 April 2011			5 years, 233 days		[8]
Murphy, BernardBernard Murphy	13 March 2011			5 years, 177 days
Ross, IainIain Ross AO	1 March 2012			4 years, 281 days	President of Fair Work Commission
Griffiths, JohnJohn Griffiths	24 April 2012			4 years, 227 days
Kerr, DuncanDuncan Kerr SC	10 May 2012		22 February 2022	4 years, 211 days	President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Farrell, KathleenKathleen Farrell	5 December 2012			4 years, 2 days
Allsop, JamesJames Allsop AO, QC	1 March 2013			3 years, 281 days	As Chief Justice	[8][5]
Pagone, TonyTony Pagone	21 June 2013			3 years, 169 days		[8]
Davies, JenniferJennifer Davies SC	4 July 2013			3 years, 156 days
Mortimer, DebraDebra Mortimer	12 July 2013			3 years, 148 days
Rangiah, DarrylDarryl Rangiah	13 August 2013			3 years, 116 days
White, RichardRichard White	31 August 2013			3 years, 98 days
Wigney, MichaelMichael Wigney	9 September 2013			3 years, 89 days
Perry, MelissaMelissa Perry QC	23 September 2013			3 years, 75 days
Gleeson, SarahSarah Gleeson	15 April 2014			2 years, 236 days
Beach, JonathanJonathan Beach	30 June 2014			2 years, 160 days
Edelman, JamesJames Edelman	20 April 2015			1 year, 231 days
Markovic, BridgetteBridgette Markovic	24 August 2015			1 year, 105 days
Moshinsky, MarkMark Moshinsky	3 November 2015			1 year, 34 days
Bromwich, RobertRobert Bromwich	29 February 2016			282 days
Charlesworth, NatalieNatalie Charlesworth	1 March 2016			281 days
Burley, StephenStephen Burley	6 May 2016			215 days

See also

• Judiciary of Australia

References

1. Keating, Paul (10 October 1994). "Condolences: Bowen, Sir Nigel Hubert, AC, KBE". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
2. Douglas, Richard (26 February 2010). Ceremonial Farewell for the Hon. Justice Michael Black AC (Speech). Hearsay. Bar Association of Queensland. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
3. Battersby, Lucy (16 February 2013). "Man of choice words and keen judgments". The Age. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
4. Byrne, Elizabeth (5 March 2013). "Justice Keane completes the new-look High Court". ABC News.
5. "Australia Day 2013 Honours List". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 2013.
6. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, s 72
7. "Former Judges of the Federal Court of Australia". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
8. "List by appointment date of current judges". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 13 September 2016.