The
Federal Court of Australia is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges. The Court includes an appeal division referred to as the
Full Court comprising three Judges, the only avenue of appeal from which lies to the
High Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
The
Federal Court of Australia is an
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges. The Court includes an appeal division referred to as the
Full Court comprising three Judges, the only avenue of appeal from which lies to the
High Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
. In the
Australian court hierarchyThere are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
, the Federal Court occupies a position equivalent to the Supreme Courts of each of the states and territories. In relation to the other Courts in the federal stream, it is equal to the
Family Court of AustraliaThe Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters. Together with the Federal Magistrates Court, it covers family law matters in all states and territories of Australia except Western Australia...
, and superior to the
Federal Magistrates' CourtThe Federal Magistrates Court is an Australian court established by the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 , although its first officers were not appointed until 2000...
. It was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act.
Original jurisdiction
The Federal Court has no inherent jurisdiction other than that provided by statute. The Court's original jurisdiction include matters arising from Commonwealth legislation such as, for example, matters relating to trade practices, native title, intellectual property, industrial relations, corporations, and bankruptcy.
Appellate jurisdiction
The Federal Court of Australia also has
appellate jurisdictionAppellate jurisdiction is the power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...
from the Federal Magistrates Court on all matters, with the exception of
family lawFamily law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
, where the
Family Court of AustraliaThe Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters. Together with the Federal Magistrates Court, it covers family law matters in all states and territories of Australia except Western Australia...
has appellate jurisdiction. The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital TerritoryThe Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the superior court for the ACT. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters , and hears the most serious criminal matters...
and the
Supreme Court of Norfolk IslandThe Supreme Court of Norfolk Island hears certain cases in the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It is the superior Court of Norfolk Island...
. The Court also exercises
appellate jurisdictionAppellate jurisdiction is the power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...
in appeals from State Supreme Courts in some federal matters.
Judges based in Sydney
- Michael Moore (28 March 1994)
- Kevin Lindgren (26 July 1994)
- Arthur Emmett
Arthur Robert Emmett is a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, a position to which he was appointed on 3 February 1997.Justice Emmett lectures in Roman law at the Sydney Law School, where he holds the title of Challis Lecturer in Roman Law. On 22 May 2009, the University of Sydney conferred...
(3 February 1997)
- Margaret Stone (9 October 2000)
- Garry Downes
Justice Garry Keith Downes AM QC is a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. -Education:...
(2 April 2002) President, Administrative Appeals Tribunal
- Peter Jacobson (17 June 2002)
- Annabelle Bennett (5 May 2003)
- Richard Edmonds (5 May 2005)
- Peter Graham
-Pre-judicial career:Graham was educated at the University of Sydney and Harvard University. He commenced practice as a barrister in New South Wales in 1966, before becoming Queen's Counsel in 1982, practising mainly in commercial law...
(24 May 2005)
- Steven Rares (2 February 2006)
- Dennis Cowdroy (13 March 2006)
- Robert Buchanan (8 September 2006)
- Geoffrey Flick (15 October 2007)
- Nye Perram (8 August 2008)
- Jayne Jagot
Jayne Jagot is an Australian judge. She has been a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia since September 3, 2008. She was previously a judge of the New South Wales Land and Environment Court....
(3 September 2008)
- Lindsay Foster
Lindsay Graeme Foster is an Australian judge. He has been a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia since September 2008.Foster studied at the University of Sydney and was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1976. He practiced as a solicitor until his admission to the...
(4 September 2008)
Judges based in Melbourne
- Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of India, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Supreme...
Michael BlackMichael Eric John Black, AC, QC is the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.-External links:*...
(1 January 1991)
- Peter Gray (17 May 1984)
- Donnell Ryan (29 September 1986)
- Ross Sundberg (10 July 1995)
- Shane Marshall (17 July 1995)
- Anthony North (3 October 1995)
- Alan Goldberg (3 February 1997)
- Raymond Finkelstein
-Education:Finkelstein was educated at Monash University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Jurisprudence.Finkelstein was a teaching fellow at Monash University Law School from 1974-1975.-Career:...
(21 July 1997)
- Geoffrey Giudice (17 September 1997) President, Australian Industrial Relations Commission
- Susan Kenny (16 October 1998)
- Christopher Jessup (23 June 2006)
- Richard Tracey (24 July 2006)
- John Middleton (7 August 2006)
- Michelle Gordon (20 April 2007)
Judges based in Brisbane
- Jeffrey Spender (17 May 1984)
- John Dowsett
John Dowsett QC is a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.Dowsett was appointed to the Federal Court on 14 September 1998, after serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland since 1985....
(14 September 1998)
- Andrew Greenwood (4 August 2005)
- Berna Collier (8 February 2006)
- John Logan (27 September 2007)
- John Reeves (15 October 2007; based in Darwin until March 2009)
Judges based in Perth
- Antony Siopis (14 April 2005)
- John Gilmour (11 December 2006)
- Neil McKerracher (15 October 2007)
- Michael Barker
Michael Laurence Barker is an Australian judge. He has been a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia since February 2009. He previously served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and as President of the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal.Barker studied at the...
(9 February 2009)
Judges based in Adelaide
- Paul Finn (3 July 1995)
- John Mansfield (2 September 1996)
- Bruce Lander (14 July 2003)
- Anthony Besanko (3 April 2006)
Judge based in Canberra
- Terence Higgins
Terence John Higgins is Chief Justice of the Australian Capital Territory, a territory of Australia.-Early years:Higgins was born in 1943 in Hobart, Tasmania. He was educated at St Augustines Christian Brothers College in Yarraville, Victoria, and subsequently at St Edmund's College in Canberra...
(1 July 1990) (also Chief Justice, ACT Supreme Court)
External links