Background
While the Australian system of government is parliamentary, with a "fusion of powers" between the executive and the legislature, the separation of powers with respect to the judiciary has long been accepted as an important aspect of the Constitution of Australia. The importance of the principle is traditionally said to have reached its high point in 1956 with the Boilermakers' case, in which the High Court of Australia held that non-judicial power could not be conferred on a court established under Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. However, Australia also has a long history of judges being appointed to non-judicial positions.
The idea that some non-judicial functions can be conferred on judges in their personal capacity had been present in Australian law for some time; some trace it to cases such as Medical Board of Victoria v Meyer in 1937, while others regard the doctrine as settled law since at least 1906, and the case of Holmes v Angwin.
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