The Hon Nicholas James OWENS
Judge, Federal Court of Australia: 18.12.2024
Location: Sydney
Justice Nicholas James Owens was appointed to the Federal Court on 18 December 2024.
Justice Owens graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1999. In 2001, he obtained a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. In 2002, he was admitted as an attorney in New York, and in 2003, as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.
In 2004, he was called to the New South Wales Bar and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2016.
Associateship applications
Justice Owens’ chambers are staffed by two associates. Each position is typically of 12 months’ duration with one position commencing in January and the other in July.
The next available vacancies are in January and July 2028. The deadline for applications for those positions is 31 October 2026. However applications may be submitted at any time and Justice Owens may appoint an associate at any point in time.
Applications are to take the form of a one-page cover letter, brief CV, and university transcript. Each applicant should indicate in their cover letter their range of available working dates. Applications should not include written references.
Applications should be sent by email to Associate.OwensJ@fedcourt.gov.au
General information about associate positions can be found on the Employment pages of the website.
16 December 2025
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.
