Rosemary Balmford's career as lawyer, law lecturer and judge has included several significant milestones for the Victorian legal profession. Balmford was born in Melbourne, daughter of Supreme Court judge Sir John Norris. She was educated at the University of Melbourne, where she graduated in law with the Supreme Court prize for the top-ranked student. She was a resident tutor at Janet Clarke Hall and became the first woman appointed to a permanent lecturing position in the Melbourne Law School in 1957, as independent lecturer in conveyancing.
She became a partner in the law firm Whiting & Byrne in 1960, just four years after her admission to practise, and at a time when very few city law firms had a female solicitor, much less a female partner. In 1969 she left Whiting & Byrne to study for an MBA. At the completion of her studies she became the founding executive director (1971–7) of the Leo Cussen Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
When Balmford resigned from the Leo Cussen Institute she spent a year writing her book Learning about Australian Birds. She also worked for five years as assistant solicitor at the University of Melbourne, and for ten years as a senior member of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
In 1993, Balmford was appointed a Judge of the County Court and, in 1996, was the first woman appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
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