Commissioner
The Honourable Robert Benjamin AM SC is a lawyer and former judge of the Family Court of Australia.
Admitted to legal practice in 1975, Commissioner Benjamin practised extensively in family law and child protection prior to his appointment to the bench in 2005. He retired as a Family Court Judge in May 2021 and was appointed as Senior Counsel in May 2022.
Born and raised in Tasmania, Commissioner Benjamin has had a long-standing involvement in legal education and professional development, including through the National Judicial College of Australia, the College of Law and the Tasmanian Legal Practice Course. He has been engaged with the University of Tasmania’s Law School over the years.
He has previously chaired the Family Court of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee and established the Family Court’s Reconciliation Action Plan. He has also assisted with the development of non-adversarial legal practices in various countries around the world including Indonesia, Japan and Zimbabwe.
Commissioner Benjamin was awarded an Honorary Degree in Master of Laws (Applied Law) and Fellow of the College of Law.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015, Commissioner Benjamin was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his significant service to the judiciary and to the law, legal education, mediation and arbitration and professional standards.