Federal Court of Australia

Qualifications

LLM
LLB
BEc

Key competition cases

Woodman Beenleigh v Bunnings Group (NACO - 2026)

BlueScope Steel (appeal) (2025)

Qteq (2025)

Delta Building (2023/2024)

Cascade Coal (2019)

Colgate-Palmolive (2019)

Qualifications and key positions

• Judge of the Federal Court (February 2016)

• Director CDPP (December 2012 - February 2016)

• Senior Counsel (2009)

• Called to the Bar (1998)

• Master of Laws (University of Sydney) (1993)

• Commenced legal practice January 1985 at the CDPP

• Bachelor of Laws (Macquarie University) (1984)

• Bachelor of Economics (Macquarie University) (1984)

Relevant judgments

Woodman Beenleigh Pty Ltd v Bunnings Group Limited (no adverse costs order) [2026] FCA 1231 (27 August 2026) (misuse of market power - NACO)
(Judgment in relation to no adverse costs order (NACO) - NACO granted (first in a competition case)

BlueScope Steel Limited v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2025] FCAFC 118 ➤ (29 August 2025) (with Justices Wigney and Halley) (cartel conduct - attempting to induce)

ACCC v Qteq Pty Ltd [2025] FCA 371 ➤
(17 April 2025) (cartel conduct (attempts))

ACCC v Delta Building Automation Pty Ltd (No 2) [2024] FCA 580➤
(4 June 2024) (pecuniary penalties for cartel conduct - bid rigging)

ACCC v Delta Building Automation Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 880 ➤
(1 August 2023) (cartel conduct - bid rigging)

J Hutchinson Pty Ltd v ACCC [2024] FCAFC 18‍ ‍➤
(29 February 2024) (secondary boycotts - with Justices Wigney and Anderson)

ACCC v Cascade Coal Pty Ltd [2019] FCAFC 154
(4 September 2019) (with Justices Jagot and Beach) (cartels - meaning of in competition)

ACCC v Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd [2019] FCAFC 83 ➤
(24 May 2019) (with Justices Middleton and Perram) (cartels - price fixing)

More information

Federal Court Biography page

Appointment to the Federal Court (Speech by Noel Hutley SC on behalf of the NSW Bar)