Peter Tierney

About Peter

Before being called to the Bar in Australia and New Zealand, Peter founded his own legal firm and conducted a successful practice as a solicitor; always maintaining a significant practice in advocacy.

Peter was called to the Bar in 2014 and has practised as a barrister in Australia and New Zealand since that time.

Peter has appeared in the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of New Zealand becoming the only Australian barrister to have appeared in the apex courts of both countries.

Peter has appeared in intermediate appellate courts in Australia and New Zealand, including the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the Court of Appeal of the Australian Capital Territory, the Court of Appeal of Western Australia, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia and the New Zealand Court of Appeal.

Peter appears regularly in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in both the Equity and Common Law Divisions and in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

Peter has appeared in commissions and inquiries, including:

• The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
• The Royal Commission into Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory
• The Inquiry into the Orroral Valley Bushfire.

Peter has had extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution. He has obtained qualifications as a mediator.

Peter practises in the following areas:

• Appellate practice
• Equity (focusing on wills and estates)
• Common law (with a particular interest in intentional torts)
• Public law including human rights and social justice issues.

As a senior member of the junior bar, Peter is comfortable appearing unled at trial and on appeal.

Throughout his career Peter has conducted presentations to lawyers on a variety of different subjects, including (more recently):

• “What’s the use of a human rights act?” - presentation to the New South Wales Bar Association 13 August 2023;
• “Current issues in intentional torts” – Barristers’ CPD 2023;
• “Beyond an age of uncertainty” – presentation to the Australian Human Rights Commission 20 March 2024; and
• “Current issues in abuse claims” – The Australian Lawyers Alliance ACT conference 16 August 2024.

Peter was a member of the organising committee for the inaugural Human Rights Law Trans-Tasman Conference held in Queenstown New Zealand in August 2024.