Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsections:

(2)  A person is eligible for appointment to the office of Associate Judge if the person –

(a) is an Australian lawyer of no less than 10 years' standing who has attained the age of 35 years; or

(b) is, or has been, a judge of –

(i) the Federal Court of Australia; or

(ii) the Family Court of Australia; or

(iii) the Supreme Court of another State or a Territory; or

(iv) the High Court of New Zealand; or

(v) the Supreme Court of New Zealand; or

(c) is, or has been, appointed as a magistrate under the Magistrates Court Act 1987 .

(3)  An appointment of a person as Associate Judge under this Act, as in force before the commencement of the Supreme Court Amendment (Judges) Act 2016 , is not invalid by reason only that the person did not hold the qualifications required under this Act as in force at the time of the appointment.

(3A)  An appointment of a person as Associate Judge in respect of which subsection (3) applies, is deemed for the purposes of any Act –

(a) to have been validly made on the relevant day; and

(b) to have always been validly made on the relevant day; and

(c) to have been validly made before the person served as, or performed or exercised a function, duty or power of, Associate Judge under any Act –

and no action taken or omitted to be taken by the person after such an appointment is invalid by reason only that, at the time when the action was taken or omitted to be taken, this section was not in force.