THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Attorney-General
Minister for Emergency Management
Special Minister of State
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
MEDIA RELEASE
APPOINTMENTS TO THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE
FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today announced two appointments to the Federal Court of Australia and one appointment to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
Appointees to the Federal Court are:
- Mr Darryl Rangiah QC, who will serve in the Brisbane Registry with effect from 13 August 2013
- Dr Melissa Perry QC, who will serve in the Sydney Registry with effect from 23 September 2013
Ms Joanne Stewart has also been appointed to the Federal Circuit Court and will serve in the Sydney Registry with effect from 2 September 2013.
I am delighted to be able to announce another group of outstanding judicial appointments, Mr Dreyfus said.
The quality of judicial appointments being made to our federal courts shows the Governments commitment to an open and transparent appointment process.
This process continues to attract excellent candidates and I thank them all for their interest in serving the Australian people through the courts.
Three appointments to the Federal Court have been made possible following the Governments announcement on 14 May 2013 of $118.2 million additional funding to improve access to justice for Australians.
Ms Stewart has been appointed to the Federal Circuit Court to fill the vacancy left by Judge Garry Foster, who takes up his appointment at the Family Court of Australia on 8 August 2013.
These appointments were decided by Government two weeks ago and have been announced following Executive Council decision, prior to the issue of writs for the election.
A further appointment to the Federal Court has been made and will be announced in due course, due to the appointee appearing in a current hearing.
Biographies of the appointees are attached.
MONDAY, 5 AUGUST 2013
Mr Darryl Rangiah QC
Mr Rangiah was admitted as a barrister to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1991. He graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Economics in 1985.
Mr Rangiah then undertook five-year articles of clerkship with Paul Richards & Associates, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the Queensland University of Technology in 1991. Following graduation, he went straight to the Bar.
Whilst at the Bar, Mr Rangiah has specialised in administrative law, native title law, commercial law and industrial law. He has also actively promoted and undertaken pro-bono work for community legal centres including Caxton Legal Centre, the Tenants Legal Service and the Environmental Defenders Office, both in Queensland New South Wales. Mr Rangiah was appointed Queens Counsel in 2008.
Mr Rangiah is currently a member of the Federal Courts Queensland Administrative Law and Native Title Committees, and, since 2011, has been the Vice President of the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House.
From 2009 to 2010, Mr Rangiah was a member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. He was also a member of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal from 2004 to 2009, and the Chair of the Queensland Fisheries Tribunal from 2000 to 2009.
Mr Rangiah has been a member of the Law Council of Australias Migration Law Committee and the South Brisbane Community and Immigration Legal Services Management Committee. He has been a regular presenter at conferences on topics including native title, administrative law, migration and medical negligence.
Dr Melissa Anne Perry QC
Dr Perry was admitted to the Supreme Court of South Australia as a barrister and solicitor in 1985. She graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) earlier that year. In 1986, following completion of her degree, Dr Perry was Associate to the Hon Justice Matheson at the Supreme Court of South Australia. In 1988 she completed a Master of Laws and in 1995, was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy, both at the University of Cambridge, where she won the Yorke Prize for her doctorate in public international law.
Dr Perry went to the Bar in 1992 and since that time has practised primarily in constitutional law, administrative law and native title. She was appointed Queens Counsel in 2004 and was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 2012.
Dr Perry was a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge for three months 2005 - 06, and a part-time Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University in 2003. She is currently a member of various legal and academic organisations, including the Administrative Review Council and the Australian Academy of Law of which she is a Director and Fellow.
Dr Perry is also a Squadron Leader with the Royal Australian Air Force Legal Specialist Reserves.
Ms Joanne Stewart
Ms Stewart holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1990.
Ms Stewart was employed at Mulcahy Mendelson & Round as a solicitor for two years before going to the Bar in 1992. As a barrister, Ms Stewart specialises in Family Law issues, including childrens matters, property matters, child support and Hague Convention matters. She is a regular presenter at seminars and conferences. In 2012, Ms Stewart presented for the Law Institute of Victoria, Victorian Legal Aid and at a conference for Family Lawyers speaking on family violence amendments.
Ms Stewart regularly accepts Legal Aid work and often acts as counsel for Independent Childrens Lawyers.
