21 Facts About Susan Kiefel

Susan Kiefel concurrently served on the High Court of Australia from 2007 to 2023, previously being a judge of both the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia.

Susan Kiefel attended Sandgate District State High School, leaving at the age of 15 upon completing year 10.

Susan Kiefel worked as a secretary for a building society, an architect, and an exploration company before starting work as a receptionist for a group of barristers.

In 1973, Susan Kiefel joined a firm of solicitors as a legal clerk.

Susan Kiefel is a life fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Susan Kiefel became an honorary secretary of the Queensland Bar Association in 1978 and served on its committee in 1993.

Susan Kiefel was appointed as the first female Queen's Counsel in Queensland in 1987 and was appointed to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 1989.

In May 1993, Susan Kiefel was appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland.

In October 2001, Susan Kiefel was appointed Deputy President of the Australian Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal and became its president in April 2004.

In 2003, Susan Kiefel was appointed as a part-time commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission, and was re-appointed for a further three years in 2006.

Susan Kiefel had previously been considered a favourite nominee to replace former High Court Justice Mary Gaudron when she retired in 2003, and again in 2005 as replacement for Justice Michael McHugh.

Susan Kiefel is the third female High Court Justice and the forty-sixth overall.

Susan Kiefel's nomination was met with support from the Australian Bar Association amid criticism of the lack of consultation by the Australian government.

Susan Kiefel may remain on the High Court until 2024, when she will reach the constitutionally mandatory retirement age of 70.

Susan Kiefel is the first woman to be appointed as Chief Justice.

Susan Kiefel said law students should devote more attention to "mundane majority opinion", and described judges who frequently dissent as "somewhat self-indulgent".

An article in May 2018 noted that Susan Kiefel had dissented in only two out of 164 cases before the High Court since 2014, classing her as one of the court's "great assenters" along with Patrick Keane and Virginia Bell.

Susan Kiefel stated that the majority had confused property rights with citizenship rights, and said that "race is irrelevant to the questions of citizenship and membership of the Australian body politic".

On 15 June 2023, at the end of a hearing, Susan Kiefel announced her retirement as of 5 November 2023.

Susan Kiefel gave her farewell address to the court on 16 October 2023.

Justice Susan Kiefel was chosen to recognise her distinguished contributions to the legal profession and for leading the way for women in the industry.