Mr Wheelahan – who was admitted in Victoria in 1987 – began his career as a solicitor at Madden Butler Elder & Graham and was called to the state’s bar in 1990, before being appointed a silk in 2004.

“Mr Wheelahan has extensive experience in civil litigation and has appeared in many leading cases, at trial and on appeal, across a number of areas of law including defamation, industrial law, negligence, breach of confidence, class actions, insurance law, administrative law, constitutional law, commercial law and taxation,” Mr Porter said in a statement.

“On behalf of the Coalition government, I congratulate Mr Wheelahan on his appointment and thank him for his willingness to serve the people of Australia as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.”