As Judge of The Northern Territory Supreme Court
He was appointed Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on 28 June 1971 and replaced Justice Blackburn who had taken up appointment with the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.
After Cyclone Tracy had destroyed Darwin in 1974, Justice Forster ensured the Supreme Court was fully functional by March 1975.
Chief Justice Forster was a Member of the Aboriginal Theatre Foundation from 1972 to 1975 and President of the Northern Territory Division of the Australian Red Cross from 1973 to 1985. He was also Chairman of the Museum and Galleries Board of the Northern Territory from 1974 to 1985.
Chief Justice Forster was Chairman of the Northern Territory Parole Board from 1976 to 1985 and held a Dormant Commission as Acting Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1976 to 1985. He was also a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia from 1977 to 1989.
Chief Justice Forster was a champion of the local legal profession and upon his retirement expressed a wish that vacancies on the Bench be filled by local practitioners. Indeed all appointments to the Supreme Court from 1991 (other than that of Chief Justice Brian Ross Martin in 2004) have been from the local profession.
In 1976, Chief Justice Forster was responsible for the introduction of the 'Anunga Rules' which, established guidelines for the interrogation of Aboriginal and non-English speaking persons by Police to ensure that admissions were voluntarily obtained.
He retired in 1985 due to ill-health and relocated to Perth.
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