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Associate judges hear and resolve a range of applications in the Common Law Division and Commercial Court

On this page:

Associate judges hear and resolve interlocutory applications in the Common Law Division and Commercial Court that arise before and during a trial, and applications that are final in nature. 

Associate judges have the authority to hear and determine certain civil matters and make decisions on applications to appeal from lower courts. They play an essential role in:

  • conducting trials, both within their original jurisdiction and as referred to them by Trial Division judges
  • hearing interlocutory disputes and other applications in the Associate Judges’ Practice Court
  • hearing judicial review and appeal trials from lower courts, typically those that run for one or two days 
  • case managing civil proceedings for trial, including pre-trial directions and applications
  • judge-ordered mediation of proceedings.

Associate judges can be referred matters by Trial Division judges, empowering them to hear complex matters not within the associate judges’ original jurisdiction. This better enables the Court to hear urgent or unexpected applications that arise prior to trial, and to hear a larger number of shorter trials. 

In getting matters ready for trial, hearing interlocutory disputes, and resolving matters through mediation, associate judges play an important role in the expeditious resolution of matters and saving of Court costs for parties to proceedings.

Associate Judges

The Supreme Court of Victoria has 9 associate judges and 2 reserve associate judges. 

The Honourable Associate Justice Mary-Jane Ierodiaconou is principal associate judge. For a list of current associate judges, see the judicial organisational chart.

To contact the chambers of an associate judge, access the judicial support contacts, noting the guidelines about appropriate communications with chambers contained in Practice Note SC GEN 4 Custom and Protocol.

Associate Judges’ Practice Court

The Associate Judges’ Practice Court hears applications in proceedings commenced by writ and originating motion. The applications heard include all interlocutory applications not dealt with in a specialist area, as well as the hearing or management of matters in the original jurisdiction of the Associate Judges.

The interlocutory disputes and applications include applications for substituted service of court process, disputes concerning the discovery or disclosure of documents, summary judgment applications, pleadings disputes, applications for security for costs, assessments of damages, registration of foreign judgments and a variety of other matters.

Specialist Lists

Associate judges hear interlocutory and trial matters in specialist lists in the Commercial Court and Common Law Division. Each type of civil proceeding is managed differently depending on the law that applies and the division and list that manages that type of case.

More information about the specialist lists is available on this page.

The Property List comprises proceedings in relation to rights over real property, including proceedings for summary possession or sale under the Rules and proceedings arising under the Property Law Act 1958, the Transfer of Land Act 1958 and the Sale of Land Act 1962

The Corporations List is suitable for applications including those brought under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth), and the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2008 (Cth). 

The Employment and Industrial List manages a variety of proceedings arising out of an employment or industrial context. 

The Personal Injuries List manages the majority of proceedings related to personal injuries. However, a number of other specialist lists of the Common Law Division can cater for some personal injury proceedings of various types. These include Institutional Liability List and Dust Diseases list. 

The Institutional Liability List is a specialist personal injury list within the Common Law Division. Management of proceedings in the Institutional Liability List is in accordance with Practice Note SC CL 3 Personal Injuries List (Second revision)

The Dust Diseases List manages all proceedings in which a plaintiff alleges that they are suffering from a dust related condition. Practice Note SC CL 2 Dust Diseases List (Second revision) provides examples of dust diseases.

The Testators Family Maintenance List manages all proceedings in the Court where a claim is made under Pt IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958

The Judicial Review and Appeals List covers proceedings relating to the judicial review of, or statutory appeal from, the conduct or decisions of lower courts, tribunals and other external persons or bodies.

The Mortgage Recovery List is managed by a judicial registrar; associate judges hear referrals of complex matters that arise from this list.

The Oppressions List is managed by a judicial registrar; associate judges hear referrals of complex matters that arise from this list.

Resources for Civil Proceedings

Additional resources specifically relating to the Common Law Division or Commercial Court are available.
 

Judgment summaries are shortened versions of the Court's full judgment. The Court prepares judgment summaries for some cases. The summaries provide a short overview of a judgment and are not considered a substitute for the full judgment. The full judgments can be found on the AustLII website.

Contact the Court about a specialist list.

Contact details for the judicial officer or registry in charge of each specialist list are provided at the end of their respective webpages. 

Contact details for the Common Law Division and Commercial Court registries are available on the Contact Page.