Brian Preston

Brian John Preston is the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. He was appointed on 14 November 2005.

Career Brian John Preston graduated LLB from Macquarie University in 1982.

He began his career at Stephen Jaques & Stephen, in the firm's resources group, then became associate to Mr Justice O’Leary of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.

Preston was principal solicitor at the Environmental Defender's Office NSW from March 1985, overseeing its official opening in May that year.

He was appointed a senior counsel (SC) by the NSW Bar Association in 1999.

In February 2018 the Governor of New South Wales, General David Hurley, promulgated the election of Preston as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales in the NSW Government Gazette.

In 2018 Preston received an honorary Doctor of Letters from his alma mater Macquarie University, and in 2022 an honorary Doctor of Laws from Western Sydney University. He is also an adjunct professor at the Sydney, Southern Cross, and Western Sydney Universities.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor by the World Jurist Association in 2023.

Preston was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day Honours.