Jacqueline Gleeson | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
| Assumed office 1 March 2021 | |
| Nominated by | Scott Morrison |
| Appointed by | David Hurley |
| Preceded by | Virginia Bell |
| Judge of the Federal Court of Australia | |
| In office 15 April 2014 – 28 February 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Eric Bana (brother-in-law) |
| Education | Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Judge, lawyer |
Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson (born 7 March 1966) is an Australian judge. She has been a Justice of theHigh Court of Australia since 1 March 2021, and was a judge of theFederal Court of Australia, based inSydney, from April 2014 to February 2021.[2]
Gleeson is the eldest of four children of formerChief Justice of AustraliaMurray Gleeson and Robyn Gleeson. Speaking about her upbringing, Gleeson stated that "my wellbeing and development was my mother's job and she can justly take credit for any success of mine". She was educated atMonte Sant'Angelo Mercy College and attendedSancta Sophia College, University of Sydney, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1989.[3]
Gleeson was admitted as a lawyer in 1989, and worked as an associate to JusticeTrevor Morling of the Federal Court and then as a solicitor for Bush Burke & Company. Gleeson was admitted as a barrister in 1991. In 2000, she left the Bar to work as general counsel for theAustralian Broadcasting Authority and then from 2003 a senior executive lawyer for theAustralian Government Solicitor. She completed a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney in 2005, before returning to the Bar in 2007. She gainedsenior counsel status in 2012. Her practice specialised in administrative law, competition and consumer law, professional liability, disciplinary proceedings and taxation. Gleeson represented the New South Wales government at theRoyal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and representedQBE Insurance in the Canberra bushfires litigation in 2013, then theAustralian Capital Territory's largest ever civil case.[2][3][4][5]
Gleeson was appointed to the Federal Court byAttorney-GeneralGeorge Brandis on 15 April 2014, replacing retired JusticeDennis Cowdroy.[5] Gleeson has sat on a number of high-profile cases, dismissing claims against theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission brought by clients ofStorm Financial that alleged that the regulator should have taken action to prevent their loss.[6][7] Gleeson held that a company promoting a scheme "how to buy a house for $1" had engaged inmisleading and deceptive conduct.[8][9] Gleeson was a member of the Full Court of the Federal Court that unanimously upheld an appeal by theAustralian Defence Force, finding that the ADF had not breached theimplied freedom of political communication when it terminated Gaynor's commission in the army reserve after he expressed anti-homosexual and anti-Islamic views.[10][11] TheHigh Court refusedspecial leave to appeal against the decision.[12] In June 2019, Gleeson found in favour ofKimberly-Clark Australia inAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) case against them for the claim that "flushable wipes" were in fact safely flushable in Australia's sewerage system, saying that although they contributed to household sewerage system blockages in an unknown number of instances, even faecal matter and toilet paper contributed to those problems. ACCC argued unsuccessfully that Kimberly-Clark shouldn't be able to take advantage of the difficulty to isolate individual causes in individual cases, and that it was a significant cause of systematic issues.[13]
On 28 October 2020, Prime MinisterScott Morrison and Attorney-GeneralChristian Porter announced that Gleeson andSimon Steward would be appointed to theHigh Court of Australia to fill the vacancies caused by upcoming retirements ofGeoffrey Nettle andVirginia Bell. She began her term on 1 March 2021 in succession to Bell.[14][15]