The Hon Patrick O'SULLIVAN
Judge, Federal Court of Australia: 20.01.2022
Location: Adelaide
Justice O’Sullivan was appointed to the Federal Court on 20 January 2022.
His Honour graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, a Diploma in Legal Practice from the South Australian Institute of Technology in 1981 and a Bachelor of Applied Science in 2002 from Charles Sturt University.
He was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1981 and began his career as a solicitor at Lynch & Meyer that year, being made a partner in 1983.
Justice O’Sullivan moved to Hong Kong in 1988 and worked for the Hong Kong Government between 1988 and 1992, initially as Crown Counsel and then from 1990 as Senior Crown Counsel.
Justice O’Sullivan returned to Adelaide in 1992 where he joined Fisher Jeffries as a partner before joining the independent Bar in 1997. His Honour was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2008 and was appointed as a judge of the District Court of South Australia in 2018.
Justice O’Sullivan is a past President of both the Australian Bar Association and the South Australian Bar Association.
Associateship applications
Justice O’Sullivan has engaged an Associate until mid/late Feb 2028.
Applications for the 2028 Associateship will be considered from October 2026 onwards. His Honour will be interviewing for the 2028 Associateship, which is to commence in early February 2028 for a period of approximately one year, in around early 2027.
All applicants should be admitted to practice and have gained some experience in practice.
Applications can be emailed to sareg@fedcourt.gov.au marked for the attention of the Chambers of Justice O'Sullivan.
General information about associate positions can be found on the Employment pages of the website.
Updated January 2026
NOTE: Australian citizenship is a condition of engagement and may only be waived in exceptional circumstances. A character clearance is generally subject to a nil response being returned to a police record check.
