Federal Court of Bankruptcy

The Federal Court of Bankruptcy was an Australian court that was established in 1930, pursuant to Chapter III of the Constitution. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was shared with state courts. On 1 February 1977 the bankruptcy jurisdiction was transferred to the newly established Federal Court of Australia. No new cases could commence in the Federal Court of Bankruptcy after 1 February 1977, however the Court was not formally abolished until 1995, after the last judge, Charles Sweeney retired.

History
Section 51 of the Constitution states: The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:
 * (xvii) bankruptcy and insolvency;

The first Commonwealth Bankruptcy Act was not passed until 1924. The bankruptcy jurisdiction was exercised by state courts. In proposing the establishment of the Federal Court of Bankruptcy, the Attorney-General, Frank Brennan, said that it was necessary because the number of bankruptcy cases had been increasing due to the Great Depression and the 1929 decision of the High Court, which held that the arrangement in relation to registrars in bankruptcy was invalid. The federal court would have one judge and it was anticipated that judge would sit primarily in Sydney and Melbourne as they were the courts with the highest case load.

When the court was established it was constituted by a single judge, Lionel Lukin. When he was ill the Chief Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, George Dethridge, was appointed to the court to deal with any urgent matters. The court remained constituted by a single judge until 1973 when a second judge was appointed. The court rarely sat outside of Sydney and Melbourne. Any appeal was directly to the High Court.

The establishment of a Federal Court was proposed in 1967, however it was not until 1977 that the Federal Court was established, incorporating the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Industrial Court and the Federal Bankruptcy Court. Both judges of the Federal Bankruptcy Court were appointed to the new Federal Court. The Federal Bankruptcy Court, despite having no jurisdiction or cases, continued in existence until the last judge had retired in 1995.