One of Australia’s top judges has revealed he is in a relationship with a junior judge 22 years his junior following a ‘painful’ separation from his wife only months earlier.
Federal Circuit and Family Court confirmed the bombshell news after Chief Justice Will Alstergren, 63, told senior colleagues this week about his budding romance, understood to be with fellow judge Amanda Mansini, 41.
The admission comes after the pair were a major talking point among attendees at the Family Court’s 50th anniversary at the National Gallery of Victoria last week.
‘Chief Justice Alstergren confirms that he separated from his wife almost six months ago, and he is in a consensual relationship with another judge,’ the courts said.
‘Senior judges of the court were advised at that time, and appropriate steps have been in place since then to avoid any concerns of conflict of interest, such as administrative decisions.
‘The chief justice will also not sit on appeals from a decision of the judge.
‘The chief justice sincerely hopes that his family’s privacy is respected as they navigate this painful and challenging time.’
The relationship has sparked a reshuffle in court operations to ensure the pair do not sit on each other’s appeals or serve on the same appeal benches.
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Federal Circuit and Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren confirmed that he is in a new relationship, believed to be with fellow judge, Justice Amanda Manicini (both pictured in 2023)
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The Federal Circuit and Family Court Chief Justice separated from his wife six months ago
Daily Mail has contacted the Federal Circuit and Family Court for further comment.
The pair were previously photographed together in 2023 to promote the court’s therapy dog program.
The colleagues also travelled to the UK together for the ninth World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights in Cambridge last July.
A month later, they attended a two-day conference run by the Hunter Valley Family Law Practitioners Association, where Justice Mansini spoke about the court dog therapy program, the Australian Financial Review reported.
A former competitive bobsledder who once captained Australia and almost became a Winter Olympian, Chief Justice Alstergren practised as a barrister and served as President of the Australian Bar Association before he was appointed head of the Circuit Court in 2017.
He also became Chief Justice of the Family Court a year later and now presides over the largest court in Australia after the two courts merged in 2021.
Chief Justice Alstergren is the second-longest-serving chief justice in Australia.
Justice Mansini previously served as deputy president of the Fair Work Commission before she was appointed as a Federal Circuit and Family Court judge in 2022.
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Federal Circuit and Family Court Justice Amanda Mansini (pictured) was appointed in 2022
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Chief Justice Alstergren (pictured) called for his family’s privacy to be respected following the ‘painful’ separation from his wife
She lobbied for the Family Court to introduce the dog therapy program after being inspired by a similar program in the US.
She has been a public face of the court initiative ever since.
‘This program was really born of a belief in the power of a human connection with dogs,’ Justice Mansini previously told The Australian.
‘That’s what we see day in, day out when our court dogs go to work.
‘They might be doing nothing more than snoozing on their mat. They might play ball with the kids in the children’s area.
‘Or they might be with a person in court giving difficult evidence, who is holding the dog’s leash. These labradors are trained to pick up on when a person is upset.
‘They will sit on a foot, lean on your leg. It just provides such a great sense of comfort and calm.’