A high school dropout who became Australia's third female High Court judge has been awarded the highest Queen's Birthday honour.
Justice Susan Kiefel has been appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) for eminent service to the law and to the judiciary, law reform and legal education.
The Cairns-born judge had an unconventional start for a High Court justice.
She dropped out of high school at the end of year 10 and completed secretarial studies at a Brisbane college.
It was when she began working for the law firm Fitzgerald, Moynihan and Mack that she discovered her true calling and went to night school to complete Year 12.
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She went on to study law and in 1973, she became a law clerk.
Two years later she was admitted as a barrister after completing the bar exams with honours.
She continued to excel and was named honorary secretary of the Queensland Bar Association in 1978.
After completing her masters of law at the University of Cambridge, she was appointed the first female Queen's Counsel in Queensland in 1987 and served as the leading Commissioner on the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Her achievements include being appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland and being one of the first female judges on the Federal Court of Australia. She has been a High Court Judge since 2007.
Justice Kiefel was unavailable for comment.
