In an historic move, a woman has been appointed for the first time Chief Judge of the District Court of New South Wales - and she has a north western connection.

Supreme Court Justice Sarah Huggett will be the first woman Chief Judge of the District Court of NSW. She was born at Moree as one of eight children.     

People across the western plains will be hoping that the new Chief Judge will bring an approach that helps to keep their communities safe.

Before her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2023, Justice Huggett served with distinction on the NSW District Court Bench for 12 years and presided over many high-profile matters including the trial of convicted murderer Christopher Dawson. 

Her Honour is a mother of two and has been a contributor to improvements in the operation of the courts over many years. 

This has involved a strong focus on improving the experiences of women, children and Indigenous people who come into contact with the legal system. 

Justice Huggett is the daughter of a police officer and began practicing at the NSW Bar and was appointed a Crown prosecutor in 2001. She has played a significant role in updating the Criminal Trial Bench Book which assists judges in running criminal trials. 

Sworn in as a District Court judge on 15 October 2012, Justice Huggett served as the Court’s representative on the Consent Monitoring and Advisory Group Meeting and Chair of the Child Sexual Offence Evidence Program Steering Committee. Justice Huggett was the Director of Public Prosecution’s sole instructing solicitor in the prosecution of serial killer Ivan Milat. 

Justice Huggett has had a focus on Indigenous law, being one of the judges of the District Court’s Walama List, a trial of alternative sentencing procedures aimed at reducing the incarceration of, and reoffending by, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

A champion for women’s causes, Justice Huggett has stated that the lengthy sentences she has delivered in cases of sexual offence against women and children were designed to punish the offender, denounce their conduct, protect the community, and recognise the harm done to the victims. 

She set prison terms of more than 40 years for two men who, in separate cases, committed violent sexual offences against their biological daughters, sentences which survived on appeal. 

Justice Huggett also sent a clergy member at a residential school for boys with troubled backgrounds to jail for 33 years after he was convicted of multiple historic sexual offences against a number of boys in his care. 

Her Honour sentenced a swim school teacher to 32 years imprisonment for a large number of historic sexual offences on children. 

NSW Attorney General Michael Daley said he was delighted to appoint Justice Sarah Huggett to the role of Chief Judge of the District Court of NSW, and she richly deserved the honour of becoming the first woman Chief Judge.

“NSW is set to gain a new Chief Judge with great breadth and depth of experience in criminal law,” he said. “Justice Huggett is well respected by both her peers and the community, and I congratulate her warmly on her new role.”