Stephen James Holt was appointed to the position of Master of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in September 1999. In March 2008 the office of Master was renamed to Associate Judge.

He graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1979 and was admitted to legal practice in 1981. He is a past President of the Tasmanian Bar Association.

He was a partner of the Hobart law firm Murdoch Clarke from 1985 to 1999, specialising in defamation and local government, town planning and environmental law.

He is a lecturer at the Centre for Legal Studies and the Court’s representative on the Harmonisation of Rules Committee, an advisory committee established by the Council of Chief Justices.