After nearly 19 years on the Bench, Justice Anthony Cavanough is retiring as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Justice Cavanough was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria on 8 May 2006. His Honour sat primarily in the Common Law Division where he was the Judge in charge of the Valuation, Compensation and Planning List for two years and then the Judge jointly in charge of the Judicial Review and Appeals List from its creation in 2009 until 2023.
His Honour sat on a range of matters in the Trial Division, including civil jury trials. He sat for one term in the Criminal Division and for several terms in the Court of Appeal. He particularly enjoyed cases which involved one of his great interests outside the law, namely the turf.
His Honour wrote substantial judgments in various fields, including on the jurisdiction and powers of a number of Victorian statutory bodies, the duties of medical panels, prison governance, contempt of court, civil and criminal procedure, planning and environment, and statutory interpretation and administrative law generally.
From 2012-2018, Justice Cavanough chaired the Supreme Court Rules Committee. His Honour has since continued to assist the Court in relation to rules, practice notes and other guidance documents, and has presented regularly to the Victorian Bar Readers’ Course in the segment relating to the Practice Court.
For 11 years his Honour was the Court’s representative on the Supreme, Federal and New Zealand Senior Courts Conference and for a time chaired the organising committee of that conference.
His Honour is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.
‘I am grateful to the Chief Justices, the Divisional leaders, the other judicial officers and the staff of the Court for their support and collegiality over the years’, Justice Cavanough said.
‘I thank all those members of the legal profession who have contributed to the cases I have been privileged to hear. I look forward to keeping in touch with my legal colleagues and to following the progress of the Court and of my many former Associates’.
Justice Cavanough studied at Monash University, where he completed a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws with Honours, and he did articles of clerkship at Mallesons.
In 1979 his Honour was the Associate to Sir Gerard Brennan, who was then a Judge of the Federal Court and President of the AAT.
Justice Cavanough signed the Bar Roll on 19 June 1980, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 1996. While at the Bar, Justice Cavanough’s work was predominantly in federal and state administrative law. His Honour also served as a sessional Hearing Commissioner for the federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for three years.
Justice Cavanough’s retirement is effective 13 December 2024.