Education and early career

Anderson was educated at Xavier College

Xavier College

Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

 Melbourne, and became a Clerk of Courts in what is now the Magistrates Court of Victoria on leaving school in 1929. He completed a part time Bachelor of Laws

Bachelor of Laws

The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...

 at the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

 in 1937. During the Second World War he was commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

, and served in Operations and Naval Intelligence. Towards the end of the War, he was a liaison officer in the Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

, and was present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay

Tokyo Bay

is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...

 in September 1945. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar

Victorian Bar

The Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 19 January 2006, there were 1627 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practice by the Supreme Court...

 on 24 November 1945 and became a Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 (QC) on 14 August 1962.

Scientology Inquiry

As as a QC, Anderson was appointed in late 1963 as a one-man Board of Inquiry into Scientology

Anderson Report

The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...

 that sat until April 1965. The report of this inquiry is still regarded as controversial by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

The Australian Human Rights Commission is a national human rights institution, a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation...

, in the context of the recognition of new religious movements in Australia's increasingly multiculturalism society.

Judicial career

Anderson served as Chairman of the Victorian Bar Council in 1966–1967, and on 29 April 1969 he was appointed a Judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

 of the Supreme Court of Victoria

Supreme Court of Victoria

The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...

. He became a figure of controversy again in 1971 when the Victorian Parliament passed the second Evidence (Boards and Commissions) Act. This Act amended the Evidence Act, 1958 to grant retrospective immunity from suit to persons who had been associated with a Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

 or a Board of Inquiry, equivalent to the immunity of those associated with an action in the Supreme Court. In his autobiography Fossil in the Sandstone, Anderson quipped that this legislation was known informally as the 'Anderson Protection Act' because its immediate effect was to protect him and his assisting counsel Gordon Just from writs issued in the Supreme Court on 28 April 1970 that charged them with misfeasance, breach of duty and recklessness during their conduct of the Inquiry into Scientology.

Retirement and later life

Anderson was knighted on 14 June 1980 and retired from the Bench on 31 August 1984. He was a devout Catholic, and after his retirement argued for the retention of the traditional swearing-in of witnesses in court. He died on 14 October 1999 aged 87. He and his wife Claire (who predeceased him) had six daughters and 20 grandchildren.