Admiralty jurisdiction arises from the Commonwealth Constitution s76(iii) by which original jurisdiction is conferred in any matter of Admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.

Australia has one of the most modern Admiralty Jurisdictions set out in the Admiralty Act 1988 (Cth) covering proprietary maritime claims s4(2) and general maritime claims s4(3), maritime liens s15, owners liabilities s17, demise charterer's liabilities s18, surrogate ship s19, arrest s20, Limitation of Liability Convention s25, Civil Liability Convention s26, security s29, co-ownership disputes s33, damages for unjustified arrest s34, priorities s35, statutory powers of detention s36.

The procedure of the Admiralty Court is set out in the Admiralty Rules 1988 (Cth) and it is the Admiralty Marshal who undertakes the operational roles of the Admiralty Court including Arrest Part IV, Valuation and Sale Part X and other activities such as the maintenance of the ship under arrest and in his custody, and the welfare of the Master and crew until they are repatriated.

The Federal Court of Australia provides an Australia wide jurisdiction in rem and in personam, whilst the Federal Magistrates Court has an in personam Australia wide jurisdiction. Each of the State and Territory Supreme Courts also exercise in rem and in personam jurisdiction within their legal jurisdiction.

Our members are routinely involved in litigation concerning Admiralty, including arrest, security for commercial and sale carriage documentation, bill of landing and charter party disputes, customs issues, admiralty law including collision and salvage cases, arrest of ships and of course marine insurance.

Queens Square Chambers is arguably the pre-eminent Australian chambers dealing with issues concerning admiralty and maritime law with our members having many decades of experience.

Members who practice in this area:
Troy Anderson, Peter King, John Levingston, Tony DiFrancesco.

Federal Court of Australia - Oar Mace of Admiralty, Sydney 6 October 1994

A second Federal Court Southern Ocean Oar Mace was presented to the Court by the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand in Melbourne in a ceremonial sitting on 29 October 1999.
A third oar mace was also presented to the Court by the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand in a ceremonial sitting in Brisbane on 6 September 2006 to honour the memory of the late Justice Richard Cooper of this Court.
Other Oar Mace are in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, New York, Massachusetts, Canada, Calcutta, South Africa (Cape of Good Hope Vice-Admiralty Silver Oar) Sri Lanka, and Bermuda.