The Hon Katrina Frances BANKS-SMITH

Judge, Federal Court of Australia: 12.02.2018
Location: Perth

Other Commissions & Appointments:
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory - Additional Judge

Katrina Frances Banks-Smith was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia on 12 February 2018.  Prior to her appointment, her Honour had been a justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia since 2016.

Her Honour grew up in Tasmania and graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 1988.  In 1993 her Honour obtained a Master of Laws degree with First Class Honours from the University of Cambridge, which she attended on a Commonwealth Government Scholarship.

Her Honour was a partner of the firm now known as Herbert Smith Freehills in Perth for many years before joining the Independent Bar in 2009.  Her Honour was appointed Senior Counsel for Western Australia in 2013.

Prior to her Honour's appointment as a judge, she practised in commercial litigation, particularly in the areas of contract, banking, insolvency and mining law, as well as undertaking regulatory work.

Her Honour is Patron of Women Lawyers of Western Australia and is a member of the National Judicial Council of Australia.

For many years her Honour was the Chair of the Law School Advisory Board at Fremantle's Notre Dame University and the Chair of the Ethics Committee for the Perth Children's Hospital.

Associate applications

Justice Banks-Smith appoints two associates each year.  Applications for the 2027 positions will close at 5.00 pm (AWST) on Friday, 27 March 2026.

Download position description (PDF, 173 KB)

Applications are to take the form of a one-page cover letter, brief CV and university transcript.

Applications should be submitted via email to:  ea.banks-smithj@fedcourt.gov.au.

If you have any queries in relation to the process, please send an email to her Honour's Executive Assistant: ea.banks-smithj@fedcourt.gov.au.