New South Wales Court of Appeal

New South Wales Court of Appeal
33°52′08″S 151°12′42″E / 33.868918°S 151.211628°E / -33.868918; 151.211628
Established	1 January 1966 (1966-01-01)
Jurisdiction	New South Wales
Location	Sydney
Coordinates	33°52′08″S 151°12′42″E / 33.868918°S 151.211628°E / -33.868918; 151.211628
Composition method	Vice-regal appointment upon Premier's nomination, following advice of the Attorney General and Cabinet
Authorised by	Parliament of New South Wales via the: Constitution Act 1902 (NSW) Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW)
Appeals to	High Court of Australia
Appeals from	Supreme Court of New South Wales Industrial Court of NSW Land and Environment Court of NSW District Court of NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal of NSW Workers Compensation Commission of NSW Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal of NSW
Judge term length	Mandatory retirement by age of 75
Website	supremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au
Chief Justice of New South Wales
Currently	Justice Andrew Bell
Since	7 March 2022 (7 March 2022)
President of the Court of Appeal
Currently	Justice Julie Ward
Since	7 March 2022 (7 March 2022)

The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The Court of Appeal operates pursuant to the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW). The Court hears appeals from a variety of courts and tribunals in New South Wales, in particular the Supreme Court, the Industrial Court, the Land and Environment Court, the District Court, the Dust Diseases Tribunal, the Workers Compensation Commission, and the Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal.^[1] The Court of Appeal must grant leave to appeal a judgment of an inferior court, before it hears the appeal proper.

If a petitioner is not satisfied with the decision made by the Court of Appeal, application may be made to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal the decision before the High Court. Because special leave is only granted by the High Court under certain conditions, the Court of Appeal is in effect a court of final appeal for many matters.

The Court of Appeal was established in 1965, replacing the former appellate Full Court of the New South Wales Supreme Court,^[2] and commenced operations on 1 January 1966 with the appointment of the President, Sir Gordon Wallace, and six Judges of Appeal, Bernard Sugerman, Charles McLelland, Cyril Walsh, Kenneth Jacobs, Kenneth Asprey and John Holmes Dashwood. The advent of the Court of Appeal was controversial, as it introduced another order and unexpectedly uprooted the established order of hierarchy and seniority among judges of the Supreme Court.^[2]

The Court of Appeal, as of March 2024^[update], consists of the Chief Justice of New South Wales, the President of the Court of Appeal and the judges of appeal. Apart from the Chief Justice and the President of the Court, there are nine judges of appeal with current commissions. Traditionally two of them are heads of the Common Law Division and the Equity Division, and sit full-time in those Divisions as primary judges. The Chief Judge at Common Law is currently Ian Harrison, while the Chief Judge at Equity is currently David Hammerschlag.^[3] The chief judges will on occasion sit as appeal judges from time to time.

The Governor can appoint Acting Judges of Appeal. They have all rights and powers as a Judge of Appeal. There are presently two acting judges of appeal, John Griffiths and John Basten. Each sit full-time in the Court of Appeal, although will hear primary cases in the Divisions as the need arises.^[3]

Most judges in the Court of Appeal also sit on the Court of Criminal Appeal in varying degrees of frequency. The Chief Judge at Common Law and the Chief Judge in Equity also sit on the Court of Appeal (and the Court of Criminal Appeal) from time to time.

• List of New South Wales courts and tribunals
• List of judges of appeal of the NSW Court of Appeal

• Supreme Court website
• Court of Appeal Judgments (Caselaw NSW)
• Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW)