Mr John Faulks

Former Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia

The Honourable John Faulks was appointed as a part-time ALRC Commissioner in October 2017, to assist in the Reivew of the Family Law System.

His Honour was appointed as a judge of the Family Court of Australia in 1994, and Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court in 2004. His many contributions to the court included oversight of the Magellan project, an interagency collaborative model of case management developed to deal with Family Court cases involving serious allegations of physical and sexual child abuse. His Honour was also instrumental in the development of the Less Adversarial Trial process, and the initiative to address the needs of self-representing litigants within the Family Court. He retired from the Family Court in 2016, after 22 years of service.

Prior to judicial appointment, John was in private practice for 26 years, as a barrister and solicitor. He has been President of the ACT Law Society, President of the Law Council of Australia, and Chair of the Family Law Council.

John is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra, and an occasional lecturer at his alma mater, the Australian National University. He is also currently a mediator, and Chair of the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature.