Territory appoints David Woodroffe as first Aboriginal Local Court judge

A Darwin lawyer has been installed as an acting Local Court judge, making him the first Aboriginal person appointed to the bench in the NT.

PROMINENT Darwin lawyer David Woodroffe has been installed as an acting Local Court judge, making him the first Aboriginal person appointed to the bench in the NT.

Mr Woodroffe was previously the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency’s long serving principal legal officer after joining NAAJA in 2010.

Having graduated from the former Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) in the 1990s, the Jingili Modburra man told his alma mater he chose to study law “for my family”.

David Woodroffe was appointed an acting Local Court Judge.

“I wanted to study law for my family, so that in some way I could ensure that injustices such as the Stolen Generation would never happen to Aboriginal people and my family again,” he said.

In awarding Mr Woodroffe its Distinguished Alumnus award in 2020, the university said his dedication and skill had “earned him the respect of his colleagues and the communities in which he has worked”.

“He is among the first cohort of Indigenous law graduates in the Northern Territory and is currently one of the most senior Indigenous lawyers in the nation,” the citation reads.

“To the many Indigenous law students, graduates and lawyers who have followed his path he has served as a leader, mentor and friend.”

Mr Woodroffe also served as co-chair of the Territory’s Aboriginal Justice Agreement.