Sarah McNaughton is an Australian judge and former barrister who has served as a judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

since 10 October 2022. Prior to her appointment to the judiciary, she served as the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

from 16 May 2016 to 2 September 2022.

Biography

McNaughton studied arts and law at the University of Sydney, and after completing university worked as an Associate to Justice Michael Kirby, at the time President of the

New South Wales Court of Appeal The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales. Jurisdiction The Court of Appeal operates pursu ...

and later Justice of the High Court. After being admitted as a solicitor, McNaughton worked for Freehill, Hollingdale and Page (now

Herbert Smith Freehills Herbert Smith Freehills is an international law firm with headquarters in London, United Kingdom and Sydney, Australia. It was formed on 1 October 2012 by a merger between the United Kingdom-based Herbert Smith, then a member of the "Silver Circl ...

) until 1990, then moved to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions where she worked as a senior and later principal legal officer. In 1996, McNaughton joined the

New South Wales Bar The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Profe ...

, initially working in-house at the CDPP but later moved to private practice where she specialised in criminal matters, including large scale complex criminal trials, including for fraud, taxation, corporations, drug importation and terrorism offences. She became Senior Counsel in 2011. While at the private bar, McNaughton was Counsel for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

, and later Senior Counsel Assisting in the

Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption was a Royal Commission established by the Government of Australia to inquire into alleged financial irregularities associated with the affairs of trade unions. The Australian Worke ...

. In May 2016, McNaughton was appointed by then-

Attorney-General of Australia The Attorney-GeneralThe title is officially "Attorney-General". For the purposes of distinguishing the office from other attorneys-general, and in accordance with usual practice in the United Kingdom and other common law jurisdictions, the Aust ...

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and was a cabinet minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. He was later Hi ...

as the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for a five-year term, replacing Robert Bromwich who had been appointed as a Judge of the

Federal Court of Australia 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 indic ...

. She commenced the role on 16 May 2016. During McNaughton's tenure as Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, the agency managed a number of high-profile matters, including the prosecution of "Witness K" and

Bernard Collaery Bernard Joseph Edward Collaery (born 12 October 1944) is an Australian barrister, lawyer and former politician. Collaery was a member of the Australian Capital Territory's first Legislative Assembly for the Residents Rally party, from 1989 to ...

, ADF whistleblower, Major David McBride, and ATO whistleblower, Richard Boyle, and potential prosecutions arising out of the

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Austra ...

, In September 2022, McNaughton was appointed by New South Wales Attorney-General

Mark Speakman Mark Raymond Speakman (born 6 November 1959) is an Australian politician. He has served as the New South Wales Attorney General since January 2017 in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019, and in the first arrangement of the Perrott ...

as a judge of the

. She resigned as Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions effective 2 September 2022 to take up the new appointment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Sarah Australian Senior Counsel Australian prosecutors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Sydney alumni Directors of Public Prosecutions of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian women judges 21st-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian judges 21st-century women judges