The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian 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 (less serious) and indictable (more serious) 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 Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

. In the

Australian court hierarchy The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on mat ...

, 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 superior to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for all jurisdictions except

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

. It was established in 1976 by the Federal Court of Australia Act. The Chief Justice of the Federal Court is

James Allsop James Leslie Bain Allsop (born April 1953) is Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, in office since 1 March 2013. He was previously President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, where he presided from 2 June 2008 to 28 February ...

Jurisdiction

The Federal Court has no inherent jurisdiction. Its jurisdiction flows from statute. The Court's original jurisdiction include matters arising from Commonwealth legislation such as, for example, matters relating to taxation, trade practices, native title, intellectual property, industrial relations, corporations, immigration and bankruptcy. The Federal Court of Australia also has

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

from Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on all general federal law matters (

matters are appealed to Division 1 of that Court). The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the

Supreme Court of Norfolk Island The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island is the superior court for the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. (NI) s 5 Jurisdiction of ...

; and exercises appellate jurisdiction in appeals from state supreme courts in some federal matters. Other federal courts and tribunals where the Court exercises appellate jurisdiction include the

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) was a government statutory authority tasked to protect Australia's sporting integrity through the elimination of doping. The authority was part of the Department of Health's portfolio and was ...

and the

Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...

. It also has the power to interpret the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

Related courts

The jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia includes the jurisdiction previously exercised by three former federal courts, the

Federal Court of Bankruptcy The Federal Court of Bankruptcy was an Australian court that was established in 1930, pursuant to Chapter III of the Constitution. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was shared with state courts. (2015) 38(3) Melbourne University Law Review 996 On ...

Commonwealth Industrial Court The Commonwealth Industrial Court, known as the Australian Industrial Court from 1973, was a specialist court to deal with industrial matters, principally the enforcement of awards and orders of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Com ...

and

Industrial Relations Court of Australia The Industrial Relations Court of Australia was a short-lived Chapter III Court whose jurisdiction was transferred from the Federal Court in 1994, and transferred back in 1997.. In the words of former Chief Justice Robert French, "The tide wen ...

Federal Court of Bankruptcy

The Federal Court of Bankruptcy had jurisdiction in bankruptcy matters and was created in 1930. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia on its establishment in 1977.

Commonwealth Industrial Court

The Commonwealth Industrial Court was established in 1956 as a result of the '' Boilermaker's case'',. where the High Court held that a

Chapter III Court In Australian constitutional law, Chapter III Courts are courts of law which are a part of the Australian federal judiciary and thus are able to discharge Commonwealth judicial power. They are so named because the prescribed features of these c ...

could not exercise a non-judicial power, the arbitral function, because of the constitutional

separation of powers in Australia The separation of powers in Australia is the division of the institutions of the Australian government into legislative, executive and judicial branches. This concept is where legislature makes the laws, the executive put the laws into operation ...

. The judicial functions were given to the newly created Commonwealth Industrial Court and the arbitral functions were given to

Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...

. The court was renamed the Australian Industrial Court in 1973. In 1977 the jurisdiction of the Australian Industrial Court was transferred to the Federal Court of Australia.

Industrial Relations Court of Australia

In 1993 the industrial relations jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia was transferred to the

, and transferred back to the Federal Court of Australia in 1996. The last judge of the Industrial Relations Court,

Anthony North Anthony Max North is a retired Australian judge, who served as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 3 October 1995 until 11 September 2018. He held appointments as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and ...

, retired in September 2018. The court was formally abolished on 1 March 2021.

Current judges

References

External links

Federal Court of Australia
{{Authority control Courts and tribunals established in 1976 1976 establishments in Australia