Chief Justice of Australia

The office of Chief Justice of the High Court is established under section 71 of the Australian Constitution, which establishes the High Court as consisting of a chief justice and at least two other Justices. The court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under, the Judiciary Act 1903, with the first appointments to the High Court commencing on 5 October 1903.

The Chief Justice is first among equals among the Justices of the High Court, and the position differs little from that of the other justices. All Justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the governor-general of Australia, on the advice of the federal government. They can be removed only by the governor-general, on a request from both houses of the federal parliament, although this has never been done. Since 1977, an appointment has been until the mandatory retirement age of seventy (before 1977, appointment was for life).[2] The one substantial difference between a Chief Justice and the other Justices of the court is that, where opinion on the court is evenly divided, ordinarily the side of the question that is supported by the chief justice prevails.[3]

The Chief Justice often acts as the governor-general's deputy, especially at ceremonies such as the opening of Parliament after an election. Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by governors-general on the exercise of the reserve powers.[4] However, Chief Justice Garfield Barwick created controversy during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis[5] when he advised Governor-General Sir John Kerr on the constitutional legality of dismissing a prime minister—especially as the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, had refused Kerr's request for permission to consult Barwick or to act on any advice except Whitlam's own.

The Chief Justice also administers the oath of allegiance and the oath of office to the governor-general-designate when they take up their appointment.[6]

No.	Image	Chief Justice	Tenure	Nominating Prime Minister
1		Sir Samuel Griffith GCMG, KC (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920)	5 October 1903 – 17 October 1919 (16 years)	Alfred Deakin
2		Sir Adrian Knox KCMG, KC (29 November 1863 – 27 April 1932)	18 October 1919 – 31 March 1930 (10 years, 5 months)	Billy Hughes
3		Sir Isaac Isaacs KCMG, KC (6 June 1855 – 11 February 1948)	2 April 1930 – 21 January 1931 (9 months)	James Scullin
4		Sir Frank Gavan Duffy KCMG, KC (29 February 1852 – 29 July 1936)	22 January 1931 – 1 October 1935 (4 years, 8 months)	James Scullin
5		Sir John Latham GCMG, QC (26 August 1877 – 25 July 1964)	11 October 1935 – 7 April 1952 (16 years, 5 months)	Joseph Lyons
6		Sir Owen Dixon OM, GCMG, QC (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972)	18 April 1952 – 13 April 1964 (11 years, 11 months)	Sir Robert Menzies
7		Sir Garfield Barwick AK, GCMG, QC (22 June 1903 – 13 July 1997)	27 April 1964 – 11 February 1981 (16 years, 9 months)	Sir Robert Menzies
8		Sir Harry Gibbs GCMG, AC, KBE, QC (7 February 1917 – 25 June 2005)	12 February 1981 – 5 February 1987 (5 years, 11 months)	Malcolm Fraser
9		Sir Anthony Mason AC, KBE, KC (born 21 April 1925)	6 February 1987 – 20 April 1995 (8 years, 2 months)	Bob Hawke
10		Sir Gerard Brennan AC, KBE, QC (22 May 1928 – 1 June 2022)	21 April 1995 – 21 May 1998 (3 years, 1 month)	Paul Keating
11		Murray Gleeson AC, KC (born 30 August 1938)	22 May 1998 – 29 August 2008 (10 years, 3 months)	John Howard
12		Robert French AC, KC (born 19 March 1947)	1 September 2008 – 29 January 2017 (8 years, 4 months)	Kevin Rudd
13		Susan Kiefel AC, KC (born 17 January 1954)	30 January 2017 – present (6 years, 8 months)	Malcolm Turnbull

Chief Justice Sir John Latham took a leave of absence from the office from 1940 to 1941 to serve as Australia's first ambassador to Japan. Sir George Rich was Acting Chief Justice in his absence.[7]