Chief Justice of Australia

Chief Justice of Australia
Incumbent Susan Kiefel, AC since 30 January 2017
Style	The Honourable
Nominator	Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer	Governor-General of Australia
Term length	No set term, though retirement is mandatory at age 70
Inaugural holder	Sir Samuel Griffith
Formation	5 October 1903
Salary	$584,520[1]
Website	[1]

The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding Justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The current chief justice is Susan Kiefel, who is the first woman to hold the position.

List

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, QC (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, QC (born 30 August 1938)	22 May 1998 – 29 August 2008 (10 years, 3 months)	John Howard
12		Robert French AC (born 19 March 1947)	1 September 2008 – 29 January 2017 (8 years, 4 months)	Kevin Rudd
13		Susan Kiefel AC, QC (born 17 January 1954)	30 January 2017 – present (8 years, 1 month)	Malcolm Turnbull

References

1. Gothe-Snape, Jackson. "High Court: Meet the men and women behind the bench". ABC News. Retrieved 2 September 2021.