Catherine Margaret Branson AC SC (born 2 May 1948) is a former Australian judge and public servant. She was a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

from 1994 to 2008, and then President of the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...

from 2008 to 2012. She has been the 17th chancellor of the University of Adelaide since July 2020.

Early life and education

Branson is the daughter of Max and Barbara Rayner and grew up on a wheat and sheep property near

Hallett, South Australia Hallett is a small town in Mid North region of South Australia, situated on the Barrier Highway north of Burra, South Australia, Burra and south-east of Jamestown, South Australia, Jamestown, Hallett lies close to Goyder's Line, plotted in th ...

and learned to drive every vehicle including tractors. She went to school at Presbyterian Girls' College before studying at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. She initially sought to study psychology, but the pathway to that at the time was law or economics. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and then a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Career

In her early twenties, Branson volunteered at a legal aid office near

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

during an extended trip to the United States. On return to South Australia, Branson initially worked in private practice, then at the South Australian Department of Legal Services in 1977 before moving to the Crown Solicitor's Office in 1978. She was Crown Solicitor of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

from 1984-1989, the first woman to be appointed in Australia. Branson had a dual appointment as the Chief Executive officer of the South Australian Attorney-General’s Department, the first woman to be the permanent head of a South Australian government department. Branson practised as a barrister at the South Australian Bar from 1989, practising principally in the areas of administrative and commercial law. Branson was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1992.

Federal Court

In 1994 Branson was appointed a judge of the Federal Court in 1994. Branson was a member of the full court considering an appeal by the Yorta Yorta people concerning their native title claim. Branson was a member of the majority that upheld Justice Olney's finding that the 'tide of history' had 'washed away' any real acknowledgement of traditional laws and any real observance of traditional customs by the Yorta Yorta community. Another high profile case in which Branson was a judge on the full court that unanimously dismissed an appeal by The Wilderness Society concerning approval of the

Gunns Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It had operations in forest management, Woodchipping in Australia, woodchipping, sawmilling and Wood veneer, veneer production. The company was placed into liquidatio ...

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ...

in Tasmania. Branson was the President of the Australian Institute for Judicial Administration from 1998 to 2000. Branson retired from the Federal Court in 2008.

Australian Human Rights Commission

Branson was the president of the Australian Human Rights Commission from 2008 until 2012. During her time as president Branson supported a federal charter of human rights,

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and opposed mandatory detention for

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

. Branson continued to live in Adelaide, however she had to commute regularly to Sydney and decided to resign 15 months early to spend more time with her husband and elderly parents.

Honours

In 2012 Branson was given an honorary Doctor of Laws by

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

, for her 'long and esteemed career in the law' and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

for her support and advocacy for human rights. In 2018, she was invested as a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AC) in the Queen's Birthday Honours. In July 2020, Branson was appointed Chancellor of The University of Adelaide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branson, Catherine 1948 births Living people Australian King's Counsel Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Australian women judges Adelaide Law School alumni Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Companions of the Order of Australia