Wendy Abraham

The Honourable Justice Wendy Jane Abraham
Judge of the Federal Court of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2019
Personal details
Born	(1960-05-06) 6 May 1960 (age 65)
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Adelaide (LL.B (hons), 1982)
Occupation	Judge and lawyer
Awards	King's Counsel (1998)

Wendy Jane Abraham (born 6 May 1960) is a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, sitting in Sydney. She was appointed on 7 May 2019 for a term to end 6 May 2030. ^{[1] [2]} Abraham took silk in 1998 and is a member of the bars of South Australia (1982) and New South Wales (2005). ^{[1] [3]}

Abraham is an expert in criminal law. Beginning in 1983, she was a counsel to the Director of Public Prosecutions of South Australia, and later established a national criminal appellate practice. ^[3] She appeared before the High Court of Australia for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in R v Tang, securing the first criminal conviction for slavery in Australian history. ^{[4] [5]} In 2003, she advised the Australian Law Reform Commission on the use of genetic evidence in prosecutions. ^[6]

Notable cases

In her role as Crown Prosecutor with the South Australian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abraham led the prosecution in the Snowtown murders case, one of Australia's most notorious and complex serial murder trials. She prosecuted John Bunting and Robert Wagner, who were ultimately convicted of multiple murders. The trial, which lasted nearly a year, was one of the longest in South Australian legal history and required the jury to hear testimony from over 230 witnesses and review more than 1,000 exhibits. ^{[7] [8]}

Justice Abraham was assigned the Afghan Files case: Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Kane (No 2). ^[9] She ruled in February 2020 that a warrant issued to the Australian Federal Police to search the offices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was valid. ^[10]

Works

• Abraham, Wendy (2011). "A Guide to Criminal Appeals in New South Wales". Bar News: The Journal of the New South Wales Bar Association: 73–78 – via AustLII.

References

1. Federal Court of Australia (9 June 2020). "The Hon Wendy Jane ABRAHAM". Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
2. Government of Australia (10 April 2019). "The Hon Justice Wendy Abraham". Directory. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
3. Attorney-General for Australia (5 May 2019). "Appointments to the Federal Court of Australia". Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
4. Law Council of Australia (5 May 2019). "Additional Federal Court appointments welcome to manage increased caseload, extended jurisdiction". Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
5. The Queen v Tang [2008] HCA 39 (28 August 2008). "The Queen v Tang [2008] HCA 39 (28 August 2008)". Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2020..
6. Australian Law Reform Commission (2003). Essentially Yours: The Protection of Human Genetic Information in Australia (PDF) (Report). pp. 1100, 1102, 1105, 1107. ISBN   0975060007. ALRC 96, 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
7. "Ceremonial sitting of the Full Court for the welcome of the Honourable Justice Wendy Jane Abraham". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
8. "Crown opens case in Snowtown murder trial". ABC News. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
9. Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Kane (No 2) [2020] FCA 133. Archived 29 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
10. McKinnell, Jamie (16 February 2020). "'Bad day for Australian journalism': ABC loses court case over Afghan Files raids". ABC News . Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.