Saul Holt KC

Contact

Professional History

Saul Holt KC is a trial and appellate silk practising across public and administrative law, regulatory and work health and safety prosecutions, criminal law, resources law, planning and environment law, and constitutional law. He took silk in 2012 and appears for corporations, government, regulators and individuals — for prosecution and defence, applicants and respondents alike.

He is the sole barrister ranked “Market Leader” for Queensland criminal law in Doyle’s Guide and is consistently ranked among Australia’s preeminent criminal silks. He appears in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court and across the appellate and trial courts of Queensland, Victoria and beyond, and is also ranked as a leading planning and environment barrister in Queensland.

His practice runs from the State’s most significant criminal trials and appeals, to multi-week resources and environmental hearings in the Land Court and Planning and Environment Court, to high-stakes regulatory and WHS prosecutions, to royal commissions and boards of inquiry. He holds a Master’s degree with first class honours in public law.

Before coming to the Bar, Saul was Chief Counsel at Victoria Legal Aid and a Victorian Law Reform Commissioner. As a Senior Policy Officer in the Victorian Department of Justice he was involved in the development of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), and he previously held Crown Prosecutor and Senior Crown Counsel positions in New Zealand.

Saul Holt

Practice Areas

Saul is available to be briefed for advice or appearance work in the following areas:

  • Public & administrative law
  • Regulatory & WHS prosecutions
  • Criminal law
  • Resources law
  • Planning & environment law
  • Constitutional law

Rankings & Recognition

  • Criminal Law Senior Counsel — Queensland: ranked “Market Leader” (the sole listing in the top band), Doyle’s Guide 2025 — the leading criminal silk in the State for a number of consecutive years.
  • Criminal Law Senior Counsel — Australia: ranked among the preeminent criminal silks nationally, Doyle’s Guide (2022, 2023, 2024).
  • Planning & Environment Barristers — Queensland: ranked as a leading planning and environment barrister, Doyle’s Guide (2025, 2026).

Recent & Significant Cases

High Court of Australia

  • MDP v The King (2025) 99 ALJR 969; [2025] HCA 24 — for the appellant; landmark decision on the “materiality” threshold and the common form criminal appeal provisions
  • BDO v The Queen [2023] HCA 16 — doli incapax and its application to s 29 of the Criminal Code (Qld)
  • GBF v The Queen [2020] HCA 40 — right to silence; conviction quashed and retrial ordered
  • Fennell v The Queen [2019] HCA 37 — for the appellant; murder conviction quashed and a verdict of acquittal entered in a wholly circumstantial case
  • Koani v The Queen (2017) 263 CLR 427; [2017] HCA 42 — the act causing death must be willed and coincide with the intent to kill; appeal allowed and a retrial ordered

Constitutional, Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination

  • Faruqi v Hanson [2024] FCA 1264 — led for the successful applicant; s 18C Racial Discrimination Act and a constitutional challenge to the validity of the racial hatred provisions (implied freedom of political communication)
  • Athwal v State of Queensland [2022] QSC 209 — Racial Discrimination Act s 10 and s 109 of the Constitution — the wearing of the Sikh kirpan in schools (provision later declared invalid on appeal: [2023] QCA 156)

Counsel in the leading Victorian Charter authorities on the s 32 interpretive obligation — still regularly cited today:

Court of Appeal of Queensland – Criminal Appeals

Saul appears in many criminal appeals in the Court of Appeal each year. Recent matters include:

His Court of Appeal practice also extends across civil, administrative and resources appeals, including TRG v The Board of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School [2020] QCA 190, Goondiwindi Regional Council v Tait [2020] QCA 119, Armitage v Parole Board Queensland [2023] QCA 239 and Pembroke Olive Downs Pty Ltd v Namrog Investments Pty Ltd [2025] QCA 87.

He also appears in the Supreme Court’s judicial review and public law jurisdiction, including Smith v Chief Executive, Queensland Corrective Services [2024] QSC 288.

Resources, Mining and the Land Court

Planning & Environment Court of Queensland

Regulatory & Professional Discipline

Environmental & Administrative Law (Federal)

Commissions of Inquiry & Royal Commissions

Including:

  • Senior Counsel for Victoria Police in the ‘Lawyer X’ Royal Commission (Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants).
  • Senior Counsel for Anglo American in the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry.
  • Senior Counsel for affected families in the Grantham Floods Commission of Inquiry.

Selected Writing

  • Holt & Hedge, “How Brawn v The King and MDP v The King Changed the Law on the Common Form Appeal Provisions” (Hearsay, Bar Association of Queensland, 2025; (2026) 3 QLJ 1).
  • Holt & McGrath, “Climate Change Litigation: is the common law up to the task?” Auckland University Law Review.
  • General Editor, Butler & Holt, Indictable Offences Queensland (Thomson Reuters).