Debra Mortimer | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia | |
| Assumed office 7 April 2023 | |
| Appointed by | David Hurley |
| Preceded by | James Allsop |
| Judge of the Federal Court of Australia | |
| Assumed office 12 July 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Debra Sue Mortimer Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nationality | Australian andNew Zealander |
| Education | Kelston Girls' High School |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland Monash University |
| Occupation | Judge, Lawyer |
Debra Sue Mortimer is an Australian judge who has been theChief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia since 7 April 2023. She was born in New Zealand but has practised law in Australia. She has been a judge of theFederal Court of Australia since 2013, having previously been aSenior Counsel practising at the Victorian Bar in migrationlaw,environmental law andanti-discrimination law.[1]
Debra Mortimer was raised outside ofAuckland, New Zealand. Her father worked as abookbinder in Auckland. Mortimer went to school atKelston Girls' High School in Auckland, and she spent her final year abroad in Sri Lanka.[2] She studied arts andjurisprudence at theUniversity of Auckland before transferring toMonash University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1985 and a Bachelor of Laws with 1st Class Honours in 1987.[1] Debra Mortimer was an Editor of theMonash University Law Review in 1985 and 1986.[3]
Mortimer did her articles at Goldberg and Window Solicitors before becoming an associate toSir Gerard Brennan, then a justice of theHigh Court of Australia in 1988 and 1989. Mortimer became abarrister in 1989 and was appointed as a Senior Counsel in 2003.[1] It was unusual for women to have a speaking role as advocates before the High Court;[4] however, Mortimer was an exception,[1] regularly appearing in the High Court from 1998[5] until her elevation as a judge. Her appearances included for the successful applicants inPlaintiff M61/2010E v Commonwealth,[6] andPlaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.[7] Mortimer also appeared in environmental cases, including representingBob Brown, anAustralian Greens Senator, in a case againstForestry Tasmania, concerning theWielangta forest.[8][9]
As well as an active practice as a barrister, Mortimer was a lecturer in theMonash University Faculty of Law from 1991 to 1994 and at theUniversity of Melbourne Law School from 2011.[1]
Since her elevation to the Federal Court, Mortimer has been the trial judge in a number of high-profile cases, includingWotton v Queensland (No 5), a case concerning the events following the2004 death in custody ofPalm Island, Queensland resident, Cameron Doomadgee. Mortimer found that members of the Queensland Police Service had contravened theRacial Discrimination Act,[10] including the way they had investigated the death in custody, that an emergency declaration and the deployment of theSpecial Emergency Response Team was part of an excessive and disproportionate policing response.[11] Mortimer was the trial judge in a case brought byConsumer Affairs Victoria against wellness bloggerBelle Gibson and her companies for misleading or deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct contrary to theAustralian Consumer Law.[12] Gibson was required to pay $410,000 in penalties.[13]
Mortimer has also sat as a member of the Full Court of the Federal Court hearing appeals, and was a member of the bench that was critical of the approach of Judge Alexander Street in hearing applications by asylum seekers.[14][15]
In 2018 Mortimer presided overan historic judgement resulting in anIndigenous land use agreement, after a claim brought byKaurna elders inAdelaide 18 years earlier. This was the first claim for a first land use agreement to be agreed to in any Australian capital city.[16]
On 25 November 2021, Justice Mortimer presided over a sitting at theFederal Court inCairns that awarded 2,188 km2 (845 sq mi) of land on the eastern side ofCape York Peninsula to theKuuku Ya'u andUutaalnganu peoples, in anative title claim that was lodged seven years prior.[17][18][19][20]
On 31 March 2023 it was announced that she will be elevated to be Chief Justice of the Court from 7 April 2023.[21]
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia 2023–present | Incumbent |