Judge Caroline Kirton graduated from Melbourne University in 1986 with a LLB and a BA with Honours in Mandarin. Her Honour graduated from Monash University in 1994 with an LLM.

Judge Kirton was the Convenor of the Commercial Bar Association and also Chair of the Construction Law Section of the Commercial Bar Association. Her Honour was a representative of the Victorian Bar on the Victorian Supreme Court’s Technology Engineering and Construction List Users Group.

While a barrister, Judge Kirton had experience in a wide range of complex commercial, construction and engineering disputes in State Supreme Courts, the Federal Court, the High Court and in commercial arbitrations. Substantial matters Her Honour was involved in have included:-

• Supreme Court litigation involving the construction and maintenance of offshore production platforms in Bass Strait.

• Litigation involving roof replacement works to the Sydney Myer Music Bowl in the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne.

• An arbitration dealing with the failure of a sewerage treatment facility servicing a Victorian western coastal region.

• Supreme Court Litigation involving a dispute over the installation of V6 engine manufacturing lines for a major international motor vehicle manufacturer at its Melbourne assembly plant.

• Advice for the Victorian State Government concerning issues arising from the construction of the Southern Cross Railway Station in Melbourne.

Judge Kirton became a nationally accredited mediator in 2008 and acted as the mediator in numerous large and complex mediations concerning construction, engineering and commercial disputes. Her Honour also regularly appeared as counsel in mediations and is experienced in assisting clients with other forms of appropriate dispute resolution procedures, including expert determination and early neutral evaluation.

Judge Kirton is a past President of Australian Women Lawyers and a past Convenor of the Women Barristers Association. Her Honour was a member of the Victorian Bar’s Ethics Committee for four years. Her Honour was the Chair of the Victorian Bar’s Equality and Diversity Committee and a member of the Bar Readers Course Committee and the South Pacific Education Committee.

Judge Kirton is an experienced advocacy teacher and has taught advocacy nationally and internationally with the Australian Bar Association and the Australian Advocacy Institute.

Her Honour was appointed a judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia commencing in the Melbourne registry on 29 January 2018