New dedicated court of appeal with five judges within the South Australian supreme court starts in 2021

The new court of appeal within the South Australian supreme court structure would have a president as one of five permanent judges.

South Australia was to have a new dedicated court of appeal, as a division of the supreme court, from January 2021. It would replace the system of appeals being heard by a panel of three supreme court judges sitting on rotation on the full court of the supreme court (also called the court of criminal appeal for criminal matters).

This reform brought South Australia into line with most other Australian jurisdictions. South Australia and Tasmania were the only states without a separate court of appeal.

With a president among five permanent judges, the court of appeal was aimed at developing their specific expertise in appeals, leading to “consistent high-quality judgments”.

Attorney General Vickie Chapman said the new court would bring “significant change” to the way appeals were managed and create efficiencies and time savings such as judgments being published promptly. She said appeal decisions were also a source of case or common law, setting precedents for the lower courts, so there were many potential benefits of this reform for the justice system.

The state government in early 2020 announced that eminent barrister, Mark Livesey QC, had been appointed to the new court of appeal. A respected litigator, particularly in the civil and commercial jurisdictions, Livesey served in numerous professional appointments, including president of both the South Australian and Australian bar associations and was a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He would serve on the supreme court until the new court started.