Tim Carmody

Timothy Francis Carmody (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian judge who was the Chief Justice of Queensland between 8 July 2014 and 1 July 2015.

His previous roles include work as a police officer, barrister, Queensland Crime Commissioner, Family Court of Australia judge, and Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland.

Tim Carmody was born in 1956 in Millmerran on the Darling Downs, the second of four children.

His father worked in a variety of roles, including as a seasonal meat worker, publican, bookmaker and boarding house contractor at the meatworks in Katherine, Northern Territory.

In 1963, the family moved to a Queensland Housing Commission home in Inala on the outskirts of Brisbane.

His mother suffered a malignant brain tumour, which paralysed her and led to her death at the age of 38.

Carmody went to a boarding school and later to Nudgee College in Brisbane, from which he dropped out in Year 10 to work as a meat worker, but later rejoined to complete his Year 12 studies.

He enrolled at the University of Queensland in a Bachelor of Laws degree, but dropped out after a semester.

Carmody joined the Police Force in 1975, where he was stationed in Brisbane City and West End as well as serving as head of Security at Government House.

He resumed his study of law at the Queensland University of Technology in 1976, while working in a police office.

Carmody married his wife Robyn in 1977.

He later worked as a clerk in the Public Defender's Office, which is now part of Legal Aid Queensland, while he completed his part-time Law studies.

In 1982, Carmody was called to the bar.

As a barrister, his roles included Counsel assisting the Fitzgerald Inquiry between 1987 and 1989, one of the junior counsel employed by D P Drummond QC, the Special prosecutor for conducting subsequent prosecutions arising out of that Inquiry between 1989 and 1991, and Junior counsel in the Connolly-Ryan Inquiry into the Criminal Justice Commission between 1996 and 1997.

Among other findings, he concluded that it had been unlawful for the Cabinet of Wayne Goss to shred evidence gathered by the 1989 investigation of retired magistrate Noel Heiner into the management of the John Oxley Youth Detention Centre.

His 121 recommendations included considering putting "toddlers in severely dysfunctional families" up for adoption and re-establishing "institutions for troubled teens".

His recommendation that families receive more support to prevent children from ending up in state care was welcomed by child safety groups.

In 1998, Carmody was appointed as Queensland Crime Commissioner.

In 1999 he took silk, becoming a Senior Counsel.

Carmody was appointed as a Judge of the Family Court in 2003.

In 2006, one of his judgments was overturned by an appeals court after it found that he had "cut and pasted" paragraphs from an earlier judgment with different facts.

He resigned from the Family Court in 2008 and returned to private practice, citing the "failure" of the new shared parental responsibility family law regime as a factor in his decision.

He also presided over the 2013 Child Protection Commission of Inquiry.

As Chief Magistrate, Carmody drew media attention for his comments and actions which were perceived as supportive of the Queensland government of Campbell Newman and their policies, including their laws against outlaw motorcycle gangs, for which he faced criticism from other senior lawyers and judges.

His comments and actions were described in media reports as undermining the judiciary's independence from the government, particularly his move to effectively prevent other magistrates from hearing contested bail applications.

Media also reported his lone expression of support as a judge for Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, who had faced calls to resign after revealing the content of confidential discussions held with the President of the Court of Appeal.

Carmody's subsequent appointment to Chief Justice after nine months as Chief Magistrate, was criticised by legal opinion, with criticism from several current and former judges and senior lawyers focusing on his perceived closeness to Campbell Newman’s LNP government, relative inexperience and lack of support from the legal profession and other judges for his promotion.

Carmody presided over the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry and handed down his final report on 1 July 2013.

Carmody was appointed concurrently as Queensland's fourth Chief Magistrate and a judge of the District Court of Queensland on 16 September 2013, taking over from Brendan Butler who moved to full-time duties as a judge of the District Court.

He was sworn in on 18 September 2013.

In his capacity as Chief Magistrate, Carmody wrote to Attorney-General Bleijie recommending changes to the laws applying to child offenders, which were later the subject of controversy.

He recommended that children lose the right to appeal against the sentence handed down by a magistrate, unless there was an error of law.

He justified this on the basis that this would save time for the Children's Court of Queensland.

This was criticised by the President of the Children's Court, Michael Shanahan.

Shanahan noted that the changes would barely lighten the Court's workload, while leading to a slower and more cumbersome appeal process that could deprive children who were inappropriately sentenced of a remedy when time was of the essence.

Shanahan also noted that Carmody had failed to consult him before making the recommendation.

Carmody's approach to the Newman Government's anti-outlaw motorcycle gang laws also drew media attention.

Carmody was sworn in Chief Justice on 8 July 2014, following the elevation of his predecessor in the role, Paul de Jersey, to Governor of Queensland.

Following ongoing tensions with other members of the judiciary, he resigned as Chief Justice on 1 July 2015.

He remained a Judge of the Supreme Court, sitting as a supplemental member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal before resigning his commission as a judge altogether with effect from 10 September 2019.