Robert James Bromwich is 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 ...

, serving since 29 February 2016. He has also served as the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Norfolk Island The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island is the superior court for the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. (NI) s 5 Jurisdiction of ...

since May 2024 and as an Additional Judge of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

since 5 September 2016, and was a part-time Commissioner of the

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

from 10 April 2019 to 30 April 2020, sitting on its Inquiry on Corporate Crime. Prior to being appointed as a judge in 2016, Bromwich was the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Director of Public Prosecutions, holding that role from 2012 until 2016.

Biography

Bromwich was born in Darwin where his father was the Chief Surgeon. He moved to Canberra and then Sydney after his schooling and in 1984 completed a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws 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. ...

. He commenced legal work in 1985 as a lawyer in the

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of ...

and later became an Assistant Director and trial advocate there. Bromwich's work at the CDPP covered a wide area of federal criminal law, but particularly focused on white-collar crime. He also assisted, while on secondment, in setting up the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption, and obtained a Master of Laws from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1993. In 1998 Bromwich moved to the private bar in New South Wales where he practised in public law, trade practices, industrial and federal criminal law. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2009. In December 2012, Bromwich was appointed by then-

Attorney-General of Australia The attorney-general of Australia (AG), also known as the Commonwealth attorney-general, is the minister of state and chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing federal legal affairs and public security as the ...

Nicola Roxon Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is an Australian former politician. After politics, she has worked as a company director and academic. Roxon represented the lower house seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party; ...

as the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for a five-year term. Bromwich undertook a number of structural reforms in the CDPP during his term as director, including moving the Office from a regional model to a practice group model with different leaders. In February 2016, Attorney-General

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is an Australian former politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party, and was a Cabinet (Australia), cabin ...

appointed Bromwich to the Federal Court of Australia, and he was sworn in as a judge on 29 February 2016. In April 2019, Attorney-General

Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Mem ...

appointed Bromwich to the Australian Law Reform Commission to help with an ongoing enquiry where Bromwich's role was to consider ways to strengthen the laws regarding the liability of corporate executives. In August 2024, Bromwich was the presiding judge in the case '' Tickle vs Giggle''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bromwich, Robert Australian Senior Counsel Australian prosecutors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Sydney alumni Macquarie University alumni Directors of Public Prosecutions of Australia Judges of the Federal Court of Australia