Hon. Stephen Rothman AM SC

areas of practice

• Administrative law

• Criminal law

• Constitutional law

• Employment and Industrial law

• Common law

Overview

Justice Rothman’s career commenced, in 1975 when he worked for the trade union movement and was a member of both the ACTU Legislation Committee and Wages Policy Committee. In that position he appeared in the former Australian Industrial Court, Federal Court of Australia and most Federal and State Industrial Tribunals. His Honour assisted the Federal Court Registrar (Mr T.V. Martin) in crafting the then Industrial Division Rules of the Court on its commencement.

His Honour’s practice at the Bar was predominately in administrative law, criminal law, constitutional law and labour law. In labour law matters at the bar, his Honour appeared for unions, individual employees, State and Federal governments and employers.

His Honour sat in the Common Law Division, as a trial judge in: administrative law (judicial review and appeals on issues of law); contracts; torts; bail appeals; in major and Commonwealth crime, usually with a jury; as a judge of the Court of Criminal Appeal (being appeals from convictions and sentences for all offences on indictment); and, on issues of law, from the Local Court, which appeals were heard by his Honour as a judge of the Common Law Division.

His Honour had, for approximately 6 years, chaired the Ngara Yura Committee of the NSW Judicial Commission, which liaises with and consults with the Aboriginal community and seeks to educate judicial officers about issues particularly affecting those communities as well as establishing special judicial processes to assist First Nations Peoples. The Committee was established as part of the implementation of the recommendations arising from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Justice Rothman was, immediately prior to his appointment to the Court, involved in two ground-breaking cases on racial vilification and freedom of speech (Toben and Scully) in which orders were eventually obtained shutting down a racist internet website.

His professional career also included leading cases in Constitutional and administrative law, anti-discrimination, racial vilification, harassment, occupational health and safety and other issues.

As counsel, his Honour was selected to advise the Soviet Union on democratic human rights, which he did during 1987 and 1988, at which time he met with and advised Mikhael Gorbachev. At the time, his Honour was the International Vice-President of the International Centre on Trade Union Rights (ICTUR), which combined leading world-wide Trade Union Officials and labour lawyers to report on and advocate for freedom of trade union activity throughout the world.

Justice Rothman is also a founding member of the General Sir John Monash Foundation, a body offering scholarships in Australia similar to the Fulbright and Rhodes Scholarship System overseas, which was established in cooperation with the Australian Government.

His Honour was appointed by the then Government as a member of the ALRC inquiry on religious exemptions in anti-discrimination laws referred by Minister Tudge in 2021, and had served on the committee from 2019, under the Morrison Government. He was appointed as a Deputy Commissioner of the ALRC to report on exemptions for educational institutions from the restrictions in the statute, which report was delivered to the Federal Government in 2024.

Justice Rothman was awarded with membership of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2007, for his work in the law and in charities over many years.

Further relevant experience:

2021: Member, Inquiry into Religious Exemptions in Anti-discrimination Laws, Australian Law Reform Commission

2013 - 2021: Member, Indigenous Justice Committee, National Judicial College of Australia

2012 - 2018: Chair, Ngara Yura Committee, New South Wales Judicial Commission

2007: Awarded Order of Australia Medal for work in the Law and charities

2005 - 2026: Judge, Supreme Court of New South Wales

1987, 1988: Advisor on Human Rights (Soviet Union),

1996 - 2000: Member Ethics Committee, NSW Bar Association

1995: Appointed Senior Counsel

1982 - 2005: Barrister