Deirdre O'Connor
{{Short description|Australian judge}}
{{for|the Irish architect|Deirdre O'Connor (architect)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable Justice
| name = Deirdre O'Connor
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| caption =
| order =
| office = Judge of the Federal Court of Australia
| term_start = 1 July 1990
| term_end = 5 March 2002
| appointer =
| nominator =
| predecessor =
| office2 = President Administrative Appeals Tribunal
| nominator2 =
| appointer2 =
| term_start2 = 1990
| term_end2 = 1994
| predecessor2 = Daryl Davies
| successor2 = Jane Mathews
| office3 =
| nominator3 =
| appointer3 =
| term_start3 = 1999
| term_end3 = 2002
| successor3 = Garry Downes
| office4 = President Australian Industrial Relations Commission
| term_start4 = 1994
| term_end4 = 1997
| predecessor4 = Barry Maddern
| successor4 = Geoffrey Giudice
| occupation = Judge, academic, lawyer
| alma_mater = Bethlehem College, Ashfield
University of Sydney
| birth_name = Deirdre Frances O'Connor
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1941|2|5}}
| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|1|28|1941|2|5}}
| death_place = Kiama, New South Wales, Australia
| spouse = Gregory Sachs
Michael Joseph
| children = 5 (David, Antony, Peter, Lionel, Sean)
| nationality = Australian
}}
Deirdre Frances O'Connor (5 February 1941 – 28 January 2024){{cite news|title=Groundbreaking lawyer was first female Federal Court judge |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/groundbreaking-lawyer-was-first-female-federal-court-judge-20240213-p5f4gn.html |newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald |date=February 13, 2024 |author=Margaret Beazley}}{{cite web|url=https://www.womenaustralia.info/entries/oconnor-deirdre/|title=O'Connor, Deirdre|work=The Australian Women's Register|access-date=2 February 2025}} was an Australian lawyer, academic, Judge of the Federal Court, President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.{{cite book |last1=Sleeman |first1=Elizabeth |title=The international who's who of women 2002. |year=2001 |publisher=Europa |isbn=1857431227}}
Early life and education
O'Connor went to school at Bethlehem College, Ashfield. She received a Bachelor of Arts from University of Sydney 1961. She was a schoolteacher from 1961 to 1969 and studied law at the University of Sydney, graduating with first class honours in 1974.
Career
O'Connor combined her education in teaching and law to be a lecturer in law at the University of NSW, Australian Film and Television School and Macquarie University between 1974 and 1980. In 1978 O'Connor was appointed by the Australian government as its representative at the UNESCO conference on the teaching of human rights. She became a barrister in 1980 and in 1983 was appointed a member of the NSW Law Reform Commission. She was also appointed Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal in 1986.
She was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.{{Cite web |date= |title=Honourable Justice Deirdre O'Connor |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/honourable-justice-deirdre-oconnor |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=State Government of Victoria |language=en-au}}
In 2008, O'Connor conducted an inquiry into the appointment, management and termination of Dr. Graeme Stephen Reeves.
=Federal Court of Australia=
O'Connor was the first woman appointed to the Federal Court, and for much of her time on the bench O'Connor was president of either the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. O'Connor resigned from the Federal Court, despite being some 10 years short of the mandatory retirement age.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}
=Administrative Appeals Tribunal=
O'Connor was president of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 1990 until 1994 and then again from 1999 until 2002.
=Australian Industrial Relations Commission=
O'Connor was appointed President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in 1994, a position she held until 1997. During her presidency the Commission decided the Family Leave test case, which gave effect to the International Labour Organization convention on Workers with Family Responsibilities{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C156 |title=C156 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) |publisher=International Labour Organization |access-date=2 November 2017}} recommendation{{cite web |url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:R165 |title=R165 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Recommendation, 1981 (No. 165) |publisher=International Labour Organization |access-date=2 November 2017}} and established a right to family leave, including a right to take sick leave to care for a member of the employees family,Family Leave test case (1994) 57 IR 129; [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/archives/1994familyleave.pdf Print L6900] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312075608/https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/archives/1994familyleave.pdf |date=12 March 2020}} 29 November 1994. Retrieved 2 November 2017. with a cap of 5 days carers leave per year.Personal/Carer's Leave test case – Stage 2 (1995) 62 IR 48; [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/archives/1995personalcarers.pdf Print M6700], 28 November 1995. O'Connor also led the full bench which decided the Public Holidays test case which determined that, while public holidays were determined by state governments, employees under federal award should receive at least 10 public holidays per year.Electrical, Electronic, Plumbing and Allied Workers Union of Australia v State of Victoria [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/archives/1994publicholidays.pdf Print L4534], 4 August 1994. Retrieved 2 November 2017. The commission also gave effect to the Superannuation guarantee scheme in the Superannuation test case by providing an award right to the payment of superannuation.Superannuation test case (1994) 55 IR 447, [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/documents/archives/1994superannuation.pdf Print L5100], 7 September 1994. Retrieved 2 November 2017. In the Supported Wage System case the commission established a model award clause intended to assist people with disabilities to obtain employment.Australian Council of Trade Unions application for a supported wage system [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/archives/1994supportedwage.pdf Print L5723] 10 October 1994. Retrieved 2 November 2017. The commission also determined the proper approach to the legislative protection on the right to strike in the ABC case.Appeal by Public Sector Union (ABC Case) (1994) 36 AILR 372, [https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/html/l4605.htm Print L4605]. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
See also
References
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{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef |before= Daryl Davies }}
{{s-ttl |title= President Administrative Appeals Tribunal |years= 1990{{endash}}1994}}
{{s-aft |after= Jane Mathews }}
{{s-bef |before= Barry Maddern }}
{{s-ttl |title= President Australian Industrial Relations Commission |years= 1994{{endash}}1997 }}
{{s-aft |after= Geoffrey Giudice }}
{{s-bef |before= Jane Mathews }}
{{s-ttl |title= President Administrative Appeals Tribunal |years= 1999{{endash}}2002}}
{{s-aft |after= Garry Downes }}
{{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Deirdre}}
Category:Judges of the Federal Court of Australia
Category:20th-century Australian women judges
Category:20th-century Australian judges
Category:Sydney Law School alumni
Category:University of Sydney alumni
Category:Australian schoolteachers
Category:Academic staff of the University of New South Wales
Category:Academic staff of Macquarie University
Category:21st-century Australian women judges