MATT CLIFFORD-O’SULLIVAN

Matt joined the Bar in 2021 after 16 years as a lawyer, predominantly in criminal law. He accepts briefs to appear in all Australian courts and tribunals, including in regional and remote locations.

Matt worked as a senior prosecutor at the Commonwealth DPP for over 11 years. His wide-ranging practice included terrorism, large scale organised crime, money laundering, and drug importations, commercial (including insider trading and breach of director’s duties), tax and revenue fraud, human trafficking and regulatory offences, as well as international extraditions.

Matt held leadership roles as a Principal Legal Officer and Principal Federal Prosecutor in four different jurisdictions, where he led teams of federal prosecutors conducting the full range of the CDPP’s prosecutions. He appeared in Supreme, District and Local Court proceedings in several jurisdictions.

Matt also worked as a State Prosecutor at the Western Australian DPP for 3 years. His busy District Court practice included robbery, burglary, serious assault, drug trafficking and fraud, and appeared in hundreds of sentence hearings. He appeared as junior counsel in a number of trials in both the Supreme and District Courts, including for armed robbery, online child exploitation, sexual assault and motor vehicle manslaughter, and has appeared as junior counsel in the WA Court of Appeal. He also conducted hearings in the Magistrates Court against police officers.

Matt started his legal career with the Aboriginal Legal Service in Redfern and has worked in native title for both claimants and government.

Prior to becoming a lawyer Matt spent time working for Sidley & Austin in Chicago and as an aid worker in China.