[4] The chief justice often acts as the governor-general's deputy, especially at ceremonies such as the opening of Parliament after an election.

Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by governors-general on the exercise of the reserve powers.

[5] However, Chief Justice Garfield Barwick created controversy during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis[6] when he advised Governor-General Sir John Kerr on the constitutional legality of dismissing a prime minister—especially as the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, had refused Kerr's request for permission to consult Barwick or to act on any advice except Whitlam's own.

[7] There is a strong tradition of appointing new chief justices from within the existing ranks of the High Court.

Chief Justice Sir John Latham took a leave of absence from the office from 1940 to 1941 to serve as Australia's first ambassador to Japan.