Justin Morgan
Justin Morgan (2016-present)
James Stewart
Episodes: 6442-present
Birth Name: Jack Lee
Date of Birth: 10th June 1984
Parents: Koby & Kate Lee (née Harris) (both deceased)
Siblings: Tori, Brody & Mason (deceased) Morgan; Raffy Morrison (half)
Marital Status: Phoebe Nicholson (2017, engaged)
Children: Ava Gilbert
Occupation: Mechanic; Bait Shop Manager; Garage Co-Owner; Band Manager
Justin had a less than promising arrival in Summer Bay when he squared up to Ash, who had driven himself, Brody and Mason off the road as they were arriving in town. He ran into Ash again shortly after but the situation was defused by their sister Tori, who had been in town some weeks already. Justin abandoned his attempt to get a job at the garage when he learned Ash owned it, and briefly attempted to chat up Phoebe when he ran into her. When they met up at Angelo’s that evening, they shared a drink and then spent the night together. The next morning, they awkwardly agreed to forget about it and Justin told Brody there was no point getting involved when they’d move on sooner or later.
Tori arranged for him to accompany Alf on a shakedown cruise of the Blaxland as a mechanic and after a shaky start they got on. However, the boat broke down and Justin had trouble fixing it, after which Alf suffered a heart attack and Justin had to swim to shore to get help. He was hailed as a hero, with Phoebe giving him free food and beer. He found out that Mason’s girlfriend Lara Adams had tracked them down and pretended to be okay with him continuing to see her, then warned Lara off. When Mason found out, they got into a fight at Angelo’s which Brody broke up. Justin kept quiet about the reason but told Mason to finish with Lara.
He visited Alf, which resulted in Roo hiring him to look after the bait shop while Alf recovered. He warned Tori against getting too close to Nate but she was upset at not being able to have friends and Brody also broke the family’s rules by buying Angelo’s. Justin was let go from the bait shop when Alf insisted it stayed close until he was better. Phoebe offered to help him get a job at the garage but when he stopped by he saw Andy arranging car ringing with Simmo and told Ash he wasn’t going to work anywhere dodgy. He was furious when he learned Mason had told Lara they were in witness protection, their parents having been murdered by a drug syndicate that their father had handled the accounts for, and felt they had to leave town, but when Tori checked with their handler, Decker, they were told to stay put. He was reinstated at the bait shop when Alf had a change of heart.
He warned Tori to keep her distance from Nate and ended up helping her fight off Spike Lowe when he attacked her in their home, wanting a book that neither of them knew about. As the family were moved to a temporary safehouse, he and Tori pondered if their father had kept records of the syndicate. When they were taken prisoner by Spike’s employer Blaine Varden, he revealed that Justin had found out what their father was doing and their mother had actually been killed when she threw herself in front of Justin, the intended target. Blaine was soon arrested but Justin had to confess to Tori that he had been trying to get their father to give the work up, resulting in her throwing him out of the house. He ended up staying with Phoebe while Tori and Brody refused to speak to him, then found Alf didn’t need him at the bait shop anymore.
Ash and Matt approached him and asked him to pretend to invest the money from Andy’s car rebirthing in the garage. Justin agreed when he learned that Phoebe was the garage’s licensee and it going bust would affect her credit rating, on condition that he take over Andy’s share of the business. However, this put him even further at odds with Tori and Brody when he was forced to pretend he’d had the money stashed away all along. Things didn’t improve much when he admitted some of the truth to Tori. He tried to earn his keep by doing odd jobs around the house and fixing Phoebe’s car. Phoebe asked him to move out but instead they slept together. They were then confronted by Spike who wanted the book to impress the syndicate. Justin told Phoebe what was going on and convinced her to help him find the book, which might get the syndicate to leave them alone.
They found a clue leading to a storage area and managed to get past an officious clerk to get the book. Justin arranged to meet Spike to hand it over and turned Tori away when she tried to invite him on a plane trip for her birthday. He made the rendezvous with Spike only for Decker and his men to swoop in and grab Spike and the book. A comment from Spike led Justin to realise his family were in danger but Tori and Brody ignored his calls and he failed to stop the plane taking off. He also failed to get a coherent message from those onboard when the plane crashed so alerted the authorities and set out to search with Ash which resulted in them spending a night in the bush. Although Mason and most of the others were found not long after, Tori and Brody were among those still missing so Justin headed out on his own to look for them. He first found Tori, Nate and Duncan, then they all found Brody had fallen off a cliff and got him to hospital.
Angry that Decker had used him as bait and ignored Spike’s warnings about the plane, Justin told him they wanted nothing more to do with him and brushed aside Phoebe’s attempts to convince him otherwise, moving back in with his family. However, he later told Tori he thought they should relax their rules about not having relationships, since their lives were unlikely to change. Decker had him arrested since it was the only way he’d talk to him, saying the syndicate had an informer in the police. He tried to give Justin an address to go to if anything happened to him but Justin refused to take it. When Brody remembered seeing Decker as a boy, long before he supposedly got in touch with the family, Justin tried to track him down. He found he had been run off the road so decided to check out the address, which Decker had left with Phoebe.
At the address, he found Decker’s nieces, Hope and Raffy Morrison, who had no idea why Decker would send him. Ash and Kat followed him there and together they stopped Spike’s men from grabbing Raffy, although Hope was taken. He took Raffy back to the Bay where he managed to rescue Hope and save Decker when Spike tried to kill him in hospital. He tried to smooth things over between Hope and Phoebe and was bemused when Hope kissed him. He turned down her attempt to seduce him but did offer her a job as a receptionist at the garage despite Phoebe’s misgivings. When he found out Phoebe had arranged a date with Damien Grogan, a customer at the garage, he managed to head him off and take his place. He then volunteered to tend Brody’s vegetable garden at the farmhouse in order to spend time with her before replacing the guitarist at Salt so they could sing a duet. He worked out Hope was behind a number of credit card frauds committed against garage customers.
With Decker still in a coma, Justin wanted to contact the Feds for help but Tori convinced him to hold off. Decker came round and confirmed Brody’s theory that he and Kate had had an affair; Justin was relieved she’d found some happiness. However, he refused to believe that Raffy was Kate’s daughter, not wanting their mother to have kept something that big from them. He was forced to accept the DNA results but felt they should tell Hope first. Hope asked to tell Raffy herself, then tried to do a runner with her before telling her not to trust the Morgans. With Raffy now hostile to them, Justin arranged for her to stay with Phoebe and convinced Brody and Mason to stay quiet until Hope, who had been injured during the escape attempt, got out of hospital. He informed Phoebe of the situation and they agreed to put their romance on hold. He gave Hope a job at Salt but then had to tell Raffy the truth when she found the DNA results. Afterwards, he went to his room to watch videos of a girl, Ava, and told Phoebe he’d left a life behind. When Hope was held on remand at the police station, Justin made a failed attempt to bully her into seeing Raffy. When she accidentally overdosed, he visited her in hospital before she played a last visit to Raffy at the farm. She asked Justin to look after her and Raffy moved back in with the Morgans.
Soon after, Tori learned her ex Riley Hawkins was going to the same conference as her so decided to attend under her birth name but Justin talked her out of it. He tried to help Raffy fit in after Hope was sentenced to eight months but she ran away. When he learned she was looking for Decker, he decided they couldn’t involve the police because of the informer so went to the city with Phoebe to search themselves. There, he confided in her about Ava, his daughter; he was only with her mother Nina briefly but was there when Ava was born and saw her as much as he could for the first two years of her life until he had to leave her behind when he went into witness protection. He and Phoebe then slept together but afterwards he was distant from her again and was quick to head back home when Raffy returned. He quickly realised she hadn’t seen Decker and, since they hadn’t kept a photo of their mother, printed one out from the article on their parents’ murder. However, this resulted in Raffy finding the article and the Morgans had to explain to her about the witness protection. Justin went to Phoebe for help when Raffy ran away again, then managed to convince Raffy she was part of the family, but walked away when Phoebe told him she loved him, which resulted in him being yelled at by both Phoebe and Kat in Salt. He pointed out to her that he’d lost everyone he loved and she accused him of being scared of his feelings.
He spoke to Phoebe about the possibility of getting together but she concluded neither of them was in the right head space. He received a visit from Decker, who told him he’d identified the mole and would need him to testify soon. However, he then found himself interrogated by Kat, who had realised his history was fabricated. When Decker was killed, Justin decided to confide in Kat, especially when Mason found a USB stick full of police files. Mistrustful of Ranae Turner, who had taken over the case, he and Kat found a photo on the stick saying she was Blaine’s girlfriend and decided to take it to the commissioner in person while the rest of the Morgans hid at the farm, but they found themselves being shot at by Ranae and had to flee without the stick. Justin went back for it but was captured by Ranae. However, he refused to be cowed with her or tell her anything and was rescued by Kat and the police. He and Kat headed to the city for the trial where he gave evidence that saw Ranae and her associates convicted. Although Ranae warned him he was a dead man as she was taken away, Justin went back to his family and told them it was over.
The family had a celebration but Justin avoided Phoebe at it. He went to the city to find Nina but she was angry with him for disappearing without explanation and told him that Ava had a new father now and didn’t need him. He was upset when he ran into Ava and she didn’t recognise him and went to Phoebe for comfort. He then had a news report brand him a drug dealer, resulting in Salt being vandalised. Nina came to visit him, having realised he was telling the truth about witness protection, but still wasn’t convinced Ava would be safe with him and felt it would be too disruptive. However, after a talking to from Tori, she agreed to give him a chance. When he found out Phoebe wasn’t doing any work at the Summer Grooves music festival, he stepped in to do her share of the set-up. He told her he loved her and promised to listen to her song, and also received a message from Nina saying he could meet Ava before the family went away to New Zealand. However, at the festival he had a call from Ranae revealing she was holding Tori prisoner. Warned not to call the police, he drove off without telling anyone. He sneaked into the warehouse where Tori was being held but was caught by Ranae’s thugs. However, when Ranae mentioned going after Brody and Mason once she’d finished with them, an angry Justin managed to overpower her henchmen, only to be stabbed by Ranae as he and Tori tried to flee.
He was taken to hospital by Tori where Nate stabilised him and, unconscious, was unaware that his life was saved by Tori’s ex Riley Hawkins or that Ranae had tried to kill him again with an insulin injection. When he woke up, he asked Brody to get Phoebe, who performed the song she had meant to sing for him at the festival. He told her he loved her and they kissed. On being discharged, he kept making requests of Phoebe and his family until Brody pointed out he was being pathetic and he agreed not to rely on them as much.
When he found out Riley was back in town, he warned him off and also warned Mason about getting too serious too quickly with Olivia. Brody told him Phoebe was waiting for him to call so he invited her over for a romantic meal only to collapse from an infection, needing to be taken back to hospital for treatment. Phoebe was worried when she found a jewellery box he’d left behind for her but he revealed it was simply a guitar-shaped necklace. He tried to support Ash after Billie’s death.
Having missed meeting Ava after being stabbed, Justin tried to contact Nina, without giving her the reason, but she told him to stop texting her. He considered getting legal advice but Kat advised him to back off for a while, only for him to learn Phoebe had sent a message to Nina. He saw a lawyer who told him he had no chance, then Nina sent him a message agreeing to meet. She told him how disappointed Ava had been and he finally told her about being stabbed. However, he couldn’t confirm Ava would be safe and accepted he had to let her go.
He wasn’t keen to learn Tori was back with Riley, especially when she considered moving to the city with him, and was happy to help her see him out of town when he tried to get Nate sacked. Phoebe told him she was being evicted and after considering getting a place together he invited her to move in with his family. Despite disapproving of Mason getting serious with Olivia, he encouraged him to date Lena Ascot. This ended in Mason confiscating some drugs Lena was dealing. Justin left Phoebe out of the family discussion on the issue but told her to still move in. They worked together to reunite Nate and Tori, after which he spontaneously proposed. After she responded by running off, he tracked her down and they attempted to put it behind them, but when she realised marriage was important to him, she accepted the proposal.
Mason warned him that Lena was working at Salt and he tried to take the pressure off Brody during a review. When Brody insulted the reviewer, Justin searched his things and found an empty drug sachet. He confronted Brody, who insisted it was a one-off and agreed to sack Lena, and also confided in Tori. He was worried Brody was still using when he was snappy with everyone. When Phoebe sang at their engagement party, her friend Donna Fields told Justin not to let her waste her talent. He gave Phoebe his blessing to go to LA with Donna but declined to go with her, since he needed to keep an eye on Brody who had got involved in a police chase with Raffy in the car to hide his drug taking.
On her return, Phoebe revealed she had been invited to go on tour for a year. She suggested he go with her but then he learned Brody was still on drugs. He cancelled Brody’s credit card and deleted Lena’s number from his phone. Phoebe asked him to go easy on Brody so he decided to go with her after all and gave her an engagement ring. Since the trip included a stopover in Mexico, he had to go for injections and ended up fainting and needing to have it done while he was unconscious. However, that night he was reunited with Ava, who had found a photo of them together and gone there on her own while Nina was at a conference, with Brian thinking she was at a sleepover. He contacted Nina, who agreed to Ava staying the night, and took her to the beach the next day.
However, when Brian turned up to collect her, he and Justin argued and Ava ran off and ended up being run over by Patrick Greenwood, who Justin had to be restrained from attacking. He recognised the bond between Brian and Ava and told Brian he’d go along with whatever decision he made. Brian accepted that keeping them apart wasn’t working and Justin visited Ava in hospital, giving her a balloon, a teddy and a phone number, but also had to tell her he and Phoebe were leaving. He was reluctant to have a farewell party but Tori and Raffy arranged for Ava and Brian to be there and he sang to her, after which she called him Dad for the first time. Phoebe realised he had to stay and she had to go; she offered to do long distance but he decided they needed to break up, knowing she would never come back, and said a farewell to her.
He then learned Brody was on ice and threw him out of the house, also removing him from Salt, but agreed to him staying at Scarlett Snow’s. With his family and even Ash disapproving of his hard stance, he lost it with Lena near the beach to the point that Kat and McCarthy had to step in. When Scarlett revealed Brody had run off after hallucinating Kate, he put her off side by blaming her but made peace after explaining about Brody’s accident after the plane crash. When he found out a returned Brody was in the shower, he overreacted by breaking the door down, thinking he might have overdosed. He suggested Brody move back in but Brody said he needed to be away from the pressure. Mason however blamed Justin but their argument was brought to a halt when they realised they’d forgotten Raffy’s birthday and Justin led them in baking a rather inedible birthday cake and convincing her she should still celebrate.
He ended up being roped into fixing a boat for Scarlett and she went to him for help when she found out Brody was using again. He locked Brody in the bedroom when he became aggressive, spending the night at her house to keep an eye on things. However, when they went to get Tori, Brody broke out and robbed the place. Justin helped look for him without success and chatted with Tori about the effect witness protection had had on them. He ran himself into the ground searching for Brody and tried to pressure Lena for information, although in the end it was Raffy who got her to provide a possible address in Mangrove River. He and Mason found him there and brought him home. When he showed no remorse, Justin handed him over to the police. He then got him out on bail using Salt as surety on condition he moved back in with the family.
He convinced Brody to attend a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. When Ava came to stay with him, he worried about her being around Brody so decided they’d stay in a caravan while she was around. Brody was angry when he found out. Meanwhile, Mason teasingly referring to Scarlett as his girlfriend left him feeling obliged to tell her he wasn’t interested, which only served to annoy her. He had a run-in with Ben Astoni while surfing, resulting in Ben thinking he’d stolen his car, which he and Ash were fixing, when he saw him taking it for a test drive. They became friends despite Justin managing to damage the car further by leaving the handbrake off. He searched for Brody when he missed his check-in and found out his hallucinations had returned.
He managed to fix Scarlett’s engine but knocked her phone into the water in the process. He got it going again and saw it contained pictures of Scarlett with a boy, prompting him to accuse her of abandoning her child and her to slap him. He also deduced that Tori had a crush on Ash. Alf told him not to judge Scarlett and he talked her out of leaving town. When he learned that Scarlett’s husband Caleb had hired a PI to track her down and the PI in question, Anderson, tried to take her home by force, Justin helped Scarlett flee town. He told her to dump her phone, use her credit card to buy a plane ticket to Bali and then return to town. She confided in him that the photo was of her son Max who had died a year earlier.
He learned Brody’s dealer William Zannis had resurfaced and was forced to tell Ben about Brody’s history. When Scarlett returned on the anniversary of Max’s death, Justin offered to spend time with her and then found her writing herself off in Salt. He took her back to his place and had to track her down the next day to explain she had merely passed out on his bed. He and Alf took her out to a fishing spot but their boat failed to start and they had to spend the night at the cove. They then had an encounter with Robbo, a man living rough who attacked Alf, but managed to make it back to town after Justin fixed the boat.
When Brody had a drug relapse that resulted in Mason ending up in hospital, Justin helped convince him to sell Salt to pay for rehab but pulled away from Scarlett when she tried to kiss him and told her he wasn’t over Phoebe. He also found out Brody had witnessed their parents’ murders as well. On learning there had been a shooting at one of Phoebe’s concerts, he contacted her to see if she was all right and learned she had a new boyfriend. He got drunk with Scarlett and suggested they go back to her van but the hook-up came to an abrupt halt when he called her Phoebe and then passed out. He struggled to remember what had happened the next day and eventually they decided just to be friends.
After another unsuccessful attempt at flirting with Scarlett, Justin ended up spending the night with Felicity Cox, the new owner of Salt. When Scarlett found out, he told her he wasn’t ready for anything serious. He tried to play peacemaker between Brody and Mason, telling the latter what Brody had seen and was annoyed when John, Marilyn and Roo began discussing moving Raffy up a year without consulting the family, enlisting Scarlett’s help to find her when she ran away. He nearly came to blows with Ben while defending Brody. He suggested to Scarlett that he didn’t want to miss their chance and she agreed to a date with him. He organised a picnic on the beach after Scarlett seemed less than keen on his idea of a pub lunch but when he went swimming afterwards he hit his head. Scarlett pulled him out and resuscitated him, insisting he go to hospital. She explained she failed to take Max to hospital after he fell out of a tree and he died of an undiagnosed head injury. The experience led her to back off from seeing Justin.
With Brody and Mason at each other’s throats on Mason’s discharge, Justin took his siblings to see their parents’ secret grave for the first time, telling them they’d lost enough already. He then found out that Brody and Ziggy were secretly seeing each other and had to deal with the fall-out of Ben finding out. When Brody was accused of stabbing Jay Turner, Justin distracted Jay while Scarlett broke into his house to get the evidence to clear Brody. He sabotaged Ash and Tori’s dates with other people in an attempt to get them together. He helped Mason get Beth to hospital after she collapsed and accompanied Brody to court where he was given a suspended sentence. He then witnessed the return of Scarlett’s husband Caleb. She assured Justin it was him she wanted to be with but he instead decided to give her space.
When Raffy got into trouble breaking a window at school and admitted she was lonely, Justin decided it was time for her to move back home. He performed a musical number at the fundraising sausage sizzle and accepted an offer to join Kat, Robbo and Scarlett in a holiday at a cabin. He and Scarlett became close during the trip although he volunteered to spend the night in a hammock outside the two bedroom cabin. Then Robbo discovered Dennis Novak had planted a bomb outside and it went off while Justin was trying to warn Scarlett. He looked after her until she was taken to hospital but had the staff call Caleb and had to witness him and Scarlett becoming closer again. He was concerned when Mason started seeing Beth’s ghost but Brody and Raffy both felt he should let it go if Mason was comforted. He avoided Scarlett when she got out of hospital, not wanting to get in the way of her marriage. Scarlett eventually chose to go back to Caleb and Justin said goodbye to her.
When Mason dropped out of college, Justin dragged him to the garage and told him to fix a busted exhaust. Instead Ziggy fixed it and Justin didn’t learn until after the customer, Judy Lawson, had taken it that they had found some money inside, which he handed over to the police. He helped talk Ash out of doing a runner with Luc when Mick applied for custody, then was attacked by Willow Harris, Judy’s granddaughter and the one who had hidden the money. She kept him tied up in the garage overnight until Ash and Ziggy arrived the next morning. However, he refused to report her and she promptly kidnapped Buddy to demand the money. Justin worked out her address from the photos she had sent and arrived to find the money’s owner, Boyd Easton, demanding it back. Justin told him the police had it and he’d call them if Boyd didn’t leave. Willow wasn’t entirely grateful but did return Buddy.
He was annoyed to find Tori planning to leave with Ash and Luc but ultimately wished her well, although they ended up cancelling the plan. He found Willow sleeping in her car to hide from Boyd, who expected her to repay the money she had lost, and took her for a meal. Boyd then turned up at his house, saying if he didn’t get the money back in 24 hours he’d come after them both. He suggested he do up Willow’s Triumph and they sell it but she refused and offered to do a job for Boyd instead. Justin offered her a place to stay for the night. Boyd came looking for him again when Willow failed to turn up for the job and he discovered she had been pulled up by the police for unpaid fines. He hid in a car boot with her when Boyd turned up at the garage and they ended up having to spend the night in there. He called the police about the vandalism Boyd and his men had done but didn’t say anything that would implicate Willow. Willow told him her father had Alzheimer’s and they used to go on trips together in the Triumph but gave it to him to pay for the damage.
Brody dropped hints to him about taking on Ziggy as an apprentice, which he eventually picked up on, but he sent Jarrod McGregor away when he brought his bike to the garage to spend time with Ziggy. Raffy announced that she had found a body and Justin and Mason promised to check it out to prove she was wrong, only to find the dead Dennis Novak. He saw Willow’s father Russell brought into hospital after being pushed down some stairs by Boyd so confronted Boyd and his friends and goaded him into confessing and beating him up. He played a recording to the police and convinced Willow to report him, resulting in Boyd being arrested. He then agreed to go guarantor on a caravan so she could move to Summer Bay.
He helped out when Mason and Willow both had a trial at the gym, then slept with Willow in her caravan only for her to immediately boot him out. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with her idea of a casual relationship so she told him she’d try things his way. However, their attempt to spend time together was derailed by Tori’s relationship difficulties and by loaning Brody the money to buy back Salt. He caught a customer at the gym, Mark, sleazing onto Willow and punched him, only for Willow to reveal she had been paid by his wife to prove he was a cheat. He tried to helped Brody strike a deal with Felicity to buy back Salt but his attempts at flirting with her just saw the price pushed up and instead Willow had to step in and strike a deal. He was ready to track down Robbo when he kidnapped Tori only to find she had already been released. Tori admitted she knew where Robbo was but refused to let him say anything. He chided her when she gave Kat the address, resulting in her being in a car accident while helping him escape, and was at the hospital when they learned of Kat’s death, spreading the word around town afterwards.
He helped Ash look for Robbo, managing to get the address of the cabin Robbo and Kat had been heading for from Tori’s bag. However, when he and Ash went to the cabin, Ash and Robbo ended up in a scuffle and Ash knocked Justin out when he tried to stop him going after Robbo, who escaped anyway. Raffy tried to get Justin to make up with Willow but he walked away when he saw her taking money from Mark’s wife Odette. However, they reconciled after admitting they cared for each other.
When he found out Tori was hiding Robbo, he accepted Ash would kill him if he knew where he was and asked Willow to help make him disappear. In the process, he learned that Dean Thompson, who was helping Ash look for Robbo, was her ex-boyfriend. He stole an abandoned car and had Willow fit it with false plates, intending Robbo should leave town in it, but instead Robbo ended up in a catatonic state after finding a photo of himself and a family inside. With Ash on his way, Justin drove off in the car to lure him away but ended up driving into a gasworks and causing an explosion. He was taken to hospital and played dumb when both Colby and Ash tried to question him about Robbo. After Robbo was arrested, Justin had a hard time convincing Ash he was on his side. With Tori having gone away, he also had to face Brody and Mason’s fury about Robbo being hidden in the house without their knowledge.
He was unimpressed when he and Willow returned to her caravan to find Dean waiting in bed for her. After finishing restoring the Triumph, he returned it to her without consulting Ash. He sacked Dean, who had been hired by Ash, on finding him asleep at work, then accused Dean of stealing the Triumph when it went missing. It turned out that Dean had been doing work for Ash, who had reinstated him, at the time and Russell had driven the car away in his confusion. He was frustrated that Tori continued to be involved with Robbo but made up with Willow, only to be surprised by Ava turning up with Nina, who explained she needed him to look after Ava for a month while she and Brian were away. He, Alf and John tried to bring Ash out of himself by bringing him beers at work. Immediately after, he found Ash trapped under a car and worked with Tori to free him safely.
He let Willow look after Ava but was furious when he came home to find Ava making herself a snack with sharp knives unsupervised, ordering Willow out. However, Ava, Brody and Raffy all felt he had overreacted and he made up with Willow, who explained she had been self-sufficient at Ava’s age. When Dean caught him talking to Kurt Adams, Robbo’s lawyer, he made an implied threat against Ava. Justin had agreed to be a character reference for Robbo but on the day of the trial he found Ava missing. He initially blamed Dean, forcing Colby to step in, until Dean offered to help search. When Mason informed him they’d received a ransom note for $35,000, Justin decided to keep the police out of it and pay the money. He met the kidnapper, Hazel, and tried to bluff her, but while she let him video call Ava, she refused to take him to her without the money and drove off when she saw Colby and Murray, who had been alerted by Raffy, hiding nearby. Justin was furious with both Raffy and Colby, but Willow realised Hazel was Boyd’s mother and it was discovered he had just been released on parole. He was initially willing to let Willow take the money to Boyd until Dean convinced him Willow was in danger, at which point he called Colby. He waited with the police during the handover and was reunited with Ava afterwards.
Willow eventually convinced him to let Ava out of his sight but when Nina turned up, she immediately decided to take Ava home with her for good. Justin tried to talk her round but she left after finding out Hazel, who was still at large despite Boyd being killed in a showdown with the police, was after Willow, at which point Willow broke up with him. He received a further blow when Raffy chose to live with John and Marilyn permanently but when he rang Nina she agreed to him visiting Ava in the city. He remained distracted on his return however and, despite agreeing to do a quick service for Ebony Harding, spent the afternoon at Salt trying to talk Willow round instead of going back to work. This resulted in Ziggy letting Ebony take the car, only for her to apparently have an accident. The garage was closed down pending a health and safety inspection and Justin received short shrift when trying to get information from Colby. Given a list of modifications by Fair Trading, he was then sued by Ebony, who demanded $100,000 for medical expenses, damages and loss of earnings. He convinced her to accept $30,000 and a job at Salt.
He continued to pursue Willow, who responded by kissing Dean in front of him. When he found out they’d spent the night together, he told her she wasn’t good enough for him. He also fired Dean and, when he bragged about being with Willow, punched him. He decided to go and meet the Palmers’ new foster son, Ty Anderson, since he was living with Raffy, only to walk in on them kissing. He dragged Raffy home but eventually agreed to her carrying on living with the Palmers on condition she and Ty stayed platonic.
He was delighted to get an invite to Ava’s birthday party, only to find out Nina didn’t know about it and she was now refusing to let him visit. He also found out Willow had broken up with him because Nina had refused to let him see Ava otherwise and felt they should have tried to find another way. His first thought was to go to the city anyway but Ash and Tori convinced him to hire a lawyer, only for him to be told he wouldn’t get custody while Ava’s kidnapper was still at large. After trying to get answers from Colby, he learned Colby’s sister had gone missing years earlier and apologised, although Colby then agreed to help him despite being suspended. They went to a pub in Mangrove River where the Eastons often recruited help and got one of a gang she used, Roach, to give them the motel where Hazel was staying. However, another of the gang tipped her off and they arrived to find a taunting note, achieving nothing except getting a ticking off from McCarthy.
He willingly stepped aside to let Mason be best man at Brody’s wedding and had to talk Colby out of making an official complaint when he believed Willow and Dean were the ones who had reported him for his past with the River Boys. Ash told him he was leaving town and gave him control over the garage, after which Justin arranged farewell drinks for him. When Ty went missing, Justin was annoyed to learn he and Raffy had been seeing each other but put it aside to help look for him. He gave speech at Brody and Ziggy’s wedding reception.
Raffy asked to move back in after a falling out with John and Marilyn. However, Justin told her that while she’d always have a home with them, she shouldn’t move just because she was angry, and let John and Marilyn make things up with her. He learned Robbo had been accused of murdering Hazel but, although sympathetic, was frustrated when Tori arranged for him to stay with them whilst out on bail without consulting anyone. Dean asked him to help Willow and told him she was addicted to gambling. Justin put her up in a motel and stopped her placing a bet online, prompting her to tell him the gambling started when he broke up with her. He asked Tori to speak to her and Willow agreed to see a counsellor. Justin offered Dean work to pay off the debt he’d got into helping out Willow but Dean refused. After Willow moved in with his family, he told her he loved her then hastily told her to forget about it.
He went away to the city for his custody hearing and was awarded access to Ava, but returned to find Willow stressed about Dean facing charges for breaking into the surf club and skimming credit cards. He decided to help Dean, getting him a lawyer and a job at the garage and convincing Alf to let him carry on staying at the caravan park. He supported Tori and Mason on learning they were planning to have IVF and going to be a father respectively, and was impressed by Dean’s car knowledge, suggested he do an apprenticeship. He got back with Willow but she didn’t want to rush into living together so decided to go and stay with friends. On her return, she moved in with Irene.
He was concerned at Tori’s plan to ask Robbo to be a sperm donor but helped her make plans to ask him. When he learned Willow had admitted to being part of Dean’s crimes and then disappeared, he enlisted Dean’s help to find her. It turned out Willow had turned herself in to the police. He encouraged Robbo to give Tori an answer and had to talk Dean into attending court to stop Willow staying away with him. He was concerned to learn Brody had never told Ziggy the full story of their parents’ death and advised him to talk to her. When Raffy suffered a head injury crawling through a tunnel under a River Boy hideout, Justin blamed Dean for telling Ryder about the place but reassured Marilyn when she felt guilty for letting Raffy go. He worried about Brody when he had another reviewer at Salt. He and Willow had to deal with a surprise visit from Dean’s mother Karen, who mistakenly believed Dean lived at the Morgan house. He then learned Raffy had been readmitted to hospital and diagnosed with post-traumatic epilepsy, making plans to look after her and telling John and Marilyn she would live with them again. He assured them they were still part of the family but kept Ryder away, upsetting both Ryder and Raffy. Justin helped look for Ryder when he skipped town as a result and also had to keep Raffy calm and convince her to continue taking her medication.
He was frustrated when Willow stood him up to comfort Dean over his meeting with his father and told her she needed to choose between them. He was pleasantly surprised when she agreed to not spend time with Dean but received serves from both Colby and Ziggy about it as well as Dean quitting the garage. He decided he and Willow should go away for a while but problems soon resurfaced on their return with Willow struggling without Dean in her life. Justin tried to tell her she didn’t have to do it but she insisted on sticking to her word since he’d implied their relationship would be over otherwise and ended up nearly gambling again. He managed to talk Raffy into forgiving Brody for revealing her epilepsy to everyone.
After taking relationship advice from Alf, John and Ben while helping set up the cancer fundraiser, he had the idea of organising a road trip with Willow, but when he called her round to discuss it she lost her temper with him. He refused to talk to her when she tried to apologise then blew up at Ziggy when he found out she had been criticising him to Willow, earning himself a serve from Ben. However, he did join with Brody in performing guitar at the dinner that closed the fundraiser. When he spoke to Willow the next day, she told him they should take a step back from the relationship. He then ended up getting drunk while celebrating Mason passing his exams, making a pass at Leah and turning up at the beach house drunkenly calling for Willow. He apologised to Irene and Leah the next day and decided to go and see Ava.
He returned to deal with the aftermath of Tori’s miscarriage. Raffy kept refusing to come home and accused him of not knowing what she needed. He sadly arranged for her to move back in with John and Marilyn after she admitted it was where she wanted to be. He ended up giving Raffy advice after she kissed Ryder, telling her to ask him what it was about. He was shocked when Tori told him she was going to implant the second embryo against Robbo’s wishes. When Tori refused to reconsider, he threatened to tell Robbo himself. Tori agreed to drop it and he tried to advise Brody over his troubles with Ziggy and Simone, and Mason over his failure to get an internship. Brody confided in him that Simone had kissed him.
When he saw Tori pouring away a glass of wine, he realised she had gone ahead with the implantation anyway. He went looking for Robbo and learned he was planning to propose to Jasmine, so asked Leah to talk to Tori. Although he had been giving Willow space as requesed, he remained hopeful that their relationship would continue but when she asked to meet him he realised she was breaking up with him for good. He hid his feelings from her and, after going drinking at Salt and snapping at Tori, accepted it and made his peace with Tori, but warned her that while things were over between him and Willow her problems were still ongoing.
Justin rushed to the hospital on hearing Willow had been shot but deferred to Dean, aware he wasn’t part of her life anymore. However, he returned when he learned Willow had been rushed back into surgery, getting information for Dean and arranging for Russell to visit. He was suspicious of Brody when he was nowhere to be found after Ziggy was hospitalised with heat stroke. After noticing Tori looking ill, he realised she was pregnant. When they found out Tori had got Jasmine to keep quiet about it, Justin and Leah teamed up to convince her to tell Robbo. He joined Tori in rejecting Mason’s idea of using medicinal cannabis to help Raffy’s epilepsy.
He then found himself with more sibling problems when he walked in on Brody and Simone in a compromising position and learned they were having an affair. He tried to tell Simone to leave town and, as a result, ended up in a fight with Brody. Although he kept quiet about the reason, he warned Brody about making Ziggy think she was a bad wife. However, he was forced to accept he needed to let Brody make his own mistakes and he had chosen Simone. When Ziggy found out about the affair, Justin received recriminations from both her and Mason about keeping it secret and also fell out with Ben. He confided in Leah and they ended up sleeping together. After an afternoon of passion, they met for a drink and decided on a friends with benefits arrangement.
He encouraged Tori to stand by Brody while continuing to look for excuses to sneak off and see Leah, including dropping Ryder home after he had visited Raffy. Attempting to repair the divisions in the family, he arranged for Mason, Raffy and Ryder to have dinner with Brody and Simone, also assuring Ziggy she still had a job after she punched Brody. However, he objected to Brody trying to move Simone in. He and Leah were caught together by a newly returned Roo and his feeble attempts to cover also resulted in Raffy finding out. He felt humiliated when Leah wrote a blog about their arrangements, despite it not mentioning him by name, but denied having feelings for her. He booked them a motel room together and was upset when she said she was busy, although she surprised him in bed a few days later.
He and Tori tried to talk Brody out of moving away with Simone but Mason convinced them to accept it and they had a family dinner to smooth things over. Justin called Leah round for a talk only for her to assume it was for another liaison and wondered when they stopped being friends. He told her they should either go back to being just friends or be a proper couple and was pleased when she chose the latter with them having their first official date at Salt. Challenged to surprise Leah with a date, he gave her a surfing lesson. He then learned Mason had been arrested for drug trafficking after secretly giving Raffy CBD oil. Leah took Mason’s side and Justin failed to defend her when Tori had a go at her. However, having reviewed Mason’s results and realised how much care he had put into the trial, Justin told Leah he agreed with her. Despite this, he was annoyed when Mason wrote an article for the Coastal News advocating it. He advised Brody against getting too involved in Ziggy’s relationship with Dean but, when Brody announced he was moving to the Yarra Valley, told him he needed to let Ziggy know. The siblings shared a farewell meal together.
Things remained tense between him and Ben but Leah and Maggie arranged for them to have a beer together where they agreed to draw a line and move on. When it was discovered that Tori might go into premature labour and lose the baby, he initially kept it from Mason and Raffy. He tried to stop Mason getting more cannabis for Raffy, who was accepted into an official trial anyway. Tori confided in him that things had gotten worse with the pregnancy and he filled in Mason after he lost his temper with her. He helped Raffy move back in with John and Marilyn but was concerned at how stressed John was. He found him after he had driven into a tree after falling asleep at the wheel and Marilyn convinced him to take longer than necessary with the repairs so John could have a rest. He and Marilyn accompanied Raffy to her first trial appointment. Leah returned from visiting her family, saying she had told them about their relationship and asking to meet Ava. Although thrown, after thinking it over Justin agreed.
He brought Ava to town but, although pleased to see him, she showed no interest in getting to know Leah. After catching them kissing, she announced she wanted to go home. After convincing her to at least stay the night, Justin tried to cheer her up but she became depressed again when he mentioned Brian and Nina, eventually admitting they had been arguing and were splitting up. The ice was broken over a game of football and Ava agreed to visit more often. Justin received another shock soon after when Tori was taken into protective custody without explanation but was eventually allowed to talk to her on the phone. He was initially furious when Robbo and Jasmine, who had disappeared at the same time, returned without her but grudgingly accepted Robbo was keeping her safe.
He realised from Leah’s behaviour that Irene had been charged with assaulting Tommy O’Reilly after he tried to rape Bella and dissuaded her from posting online. Just as Raffy was starting her HSC trial, Justin learned the CBD treatment had lost its funding. The only alternative he could find was in Melbourne, which he refused to consider, instead planning to make the oil himself. Leah talked him out of it, convincing him to campaign for access to medicinal cannabis instead. He rescued Raffy when she nearly drowned after going swimming alone and unsuccessfully attempted to spend time with Ben during his depression. When Alex suggested Raffy apply for a trial in Victoria, Justin was again reluctant but arranged for her to stay with Brody if she got in. Raffy was accepted to start the next day and Justin drove her to the airport after an early morning farewell. Alf asked him to look over a car Ryder was interested in, then bought it and asked him to fix it up.
He was asked by Nina to look after Ava, since she and Brian were breaking up, and faced the prospect of looking after her long-term, with Leah moving in to help. He learned Ava had been forbidden from contacting Brian and, with Leah, took her on a camping trip to take her mind off things, during which he managed to convince Nina to let her speak to Brian. Shortly after they returned to the Bay, he received word from Robbo that Tori was in labour and then a photo of the baby. However, he then received the news she was on life support in the city after suffering a stroke. He camped out there with Leah, leaving Mason looking after Ava. Although he told Mason to downplay the seriousness to her, Justin was eventually convinced to ring her and tell her the whole story. He was furious when Robbo took baby Grace back to the Bay and didn’t believe he was up to looking after her. When he and Robbo continually clashed, he threatened to get lawyers involved. However, Mason convinced him Robbo was looking after Grace and they called a truce.
Ironically, Justin then found it hard to spend time with Grace, seeing her as a reminder of Tori. He took Ava away to visit Brody and Raffy but returned without her, since Nina was now settled and ready to take her back. He asked Leah to move in permanently and she happily agreed. He soon received bad news however when he heard Tori had another bleed on the brain which doctors could do nothing about. Robbo and Leah distracted him by getting him to babysit Grace and Justin gave Robbo a photo of Tori for her. He refused to attend a meeting with the city doctors about Tori, afraid of being told there was nothing they could do. However, after a talking to from Robbo, he agreed to join Mason. His worst fears were promptly confirmed when the doctors said there was nothing else they could do in emergency and wanted to move Tori to a special brain injury unit for long-term care. When he learned Robbo and Jasmine were planning to move away and take Grace with them, he felt everyone had given up on Tori. After visiting her in the city, he refused to consider the move. Mason suggested an alternative that Alex had come up with: Move her to Northern Districts and try and bring her round.
After getting arrangements in place at the hospital, Justin told Robbo what was going on. Robbo tried to question him and Justin replied that he didn’t have a say, with them nearly coming to blows. Justin was delighted when Tori came round and stayed by her side during the night. However, no sooner was Tori on the road to recovery than Justin learned Leah was missing. After spending the night searching fruitlessly for her, he and Irene reported it to the police. He was called by Robbo about looking after Grace when members of the gang after them resurfaced and reluctantly helped Tori discharge herself and go home. Roo told him that Mason and several others had been taken hostage at the hospital but he distracted Tori, feeling she couldn’t handle the news.
The secrecy was to no avail, as McCarthy arrived with the news that Mason had been killed. Justin accompanied Tori in visiting Robbo, who had been critically injured in a car crash, before they decided to go to Melbourne to tell Brody and Raffy in person. He kept the fact Robbo had died from Tori until they returned, leaving her furious. They put it aside to attend Robbo’s funeral and make plans for a service for Mason halfway between Summer Bay and Melbourne. He invited Ziggy to join them, saying he still considered her family, but she ultimately declined.
When he found out someone had been posting misogynistic comments on Leah’s blog, he wanted to post a response but Colby warned him not to. He tried to go back to work at the garage but broke down, although he was buoyed when Ziggy and Ben arranged for a group to turn up to support him. As a result, he offered to help Ziggy fast track her apprenticeship. He was shocked when Leah then posted an announcement that she was engaged. The police told him they had spoken to Leah, who said she was happy with her new life, and considered the case closed. With nothing left to lose, Justin posted a reply on the blog saying he wasn’t going to give up looking for her. Leah rang him saying she didn’t want to see him again but he quickly realised she had been forced to say it. Colby gave him a peak at the file which revealed a suspect, Douglas Maynard. Justin headed out there and stumbled across Leah, who had just fled from Douglas, taking her to safety.
He tried to make her feel safe back at home, even though it meant sleeping in Raffy’s old room to give her space, and was at her side when she gave a statement to the police. Afterwards, he took Leah out to the Diner and garage and eventually filled her in on what had happened to Mason and Robbo. Worried she wasn’t up to going out, he practically forced her to come home from the Diner, prompting her to accuse him of controlling her and being as bad as Douglas, and decide to spend the night at Irene’s. They smoothed things over the next day and Justin accepted she had to set the pace.
Mason’s ashes then arrived and he, Tori and Leah buried them alongside their parents. Justin felt guilty for not protecting him but was comforted by Leah. He redecorated Mason’s old room into a nursery for Grace and accompanied Leah to the station when she gave her victim impact statement, learning of her difficulties accepting affection. Ben confided in him about the fact Maggie had slept with his brother twenty years earlier. He and Leah spent a night in the same bed and eventually started sleeping together again. He asked Leah to meet him for a chat and she blurted out that she didn’t want to get married again. Justin, somewhat bewildered, explained he’d only wanted her advice on expanding the garage, since he was now doing a business course. When Jasmine took Grace off Marilyn without asking Tori, Justin was sent to get her back and told Jasmine to stay away from Tori and Grace. He was in favour of Jasmine leaving town but couldn’t get Tori or Leah to agree.
After watching Jasmine lose it at Willow, he was uncomfortable to find her looking after Grace and sent her home. Tori insisted on continuing to use her as a babysitter and Justin had to track Grace down when Jasmine took her home instead of staying at the Morgans’ with her. He agreed to give Ziggy time off when Dean asked him, then quickly beat a retreat as the pair argued about it. He filmed Evan’s gig at Salt for Ryder, then found Leah in a state of shock after a robbery at the Diner, helping her recover again. He pointed out to Tori that John wouldn’t recover from a stroke cooped up in hospital. He quizzed Colby about the robbery investigation and told him Ari couldn’t have been with Mackenzie at the time because he didn’t join her at Salt until after the robbery.
He supported Tori when Grace went missing for a few hours after Tori’s car was stolen with her in it and ordered Jasmine out of the house when she blamed Tori. He helped Alf and Leah organise a farewell for Ben and Maggie, and helped make sure the temporarily wheelchair-bound John could attend. Tori began to accept his warnings about Jasmine when she found out Jasmine had used photos of herself and Grace to advertise the gym without permission and Justin ended up calling the police on Jasmine when she turned up at the house demanding to speak to Tori. He was happy when Jasmine left town, but after Leah made him spend the night on the sofa, he agreed to help track her down although he was still reluctant for Tori to get involved with her.
He began to show signs of forgetfulness, not remembering a car Ziggy was working on at the garage or that he was meant to be looking after Grace for Tori. He started experiencing back spasms that caused him to pass out while he was doing a rust job at the garage, spilling a container of hydrochloric acid and burning himself, needed urgent first aid from Alf. He was taken to hospital where Tori ordered scans and found he had a tumour composed of twisted blood vessels on his spine. He refused surgery on learning it could leave him paralysed and was furious when Tori invited Ava to visit in order to put pressure on him, but was unable to cancel it. He decided to go to the city to see her and brought her back to Summer Bay. He tried to hide his pain from her but was eventually forced to tell her and agreed to consider having the operation. After discussing it with surgeon Christian Green, he agreed. He didn’t want Ava around if anything went wrong so decided to have one last good day with her before sending her back to the city.
After arranging for Ziggy to run the garage, he checked himself into hospital but the operation uncovered the fact that the tumour was more closely attached to the spinal column and other organs than first thought, and Tori and Christian decided to only move as much as was safe. Ironically, Justin unthinkingly left Jasmine looking after Grace while he had a scan and ended up recommending Tori remove the AVO stopping her seeing Grace on her own. After breaking the news to Ziggy that he’d be off work for five weeks, he lost feeling in his hand and confided in Leah and Christian that his symptoms had returned but kept it from Tori, a plan which was hampered by her turning up at the hospital while he was being examined. Christian confirmed that the tumour had grown back and Justin was forced to admit the truth to Tori. Christian suggested microsurgery or radiotherapy and Justin opted for the latter.
Although the treatment left him weak, he told Leah not to treat him like an invalid. He collapsed in pain but discharged himself from hospital straightaway, going for a walk to prove a point and having to be looked after by Alf and Martha when he felt weak. He was left extremely embarrassed when Tori had Christian stay over. He returned from a session badly drained and asked Leah and John for help. When he was in pain during the night, Leah called an ambulance. He was told he needed surgery but, since he had to wait for the swelling to go down, he insisted on going home to attend Grace’s first birthday party. However, during the party he lost the feeling in his legs and had to be rushed back to hospital. He worried he had been left paralysed but slowly regained movement. He had surgery to remove more of the tumour and showed signs of a full recovery afterwards. He then had to play peacemaker between Tori and Christian.
He was shocked when the garage was searched by the police after the address was found on the phone of a man arrested for driving a stolen car, and learned Tane had hidden stolen goods there and Ziggy had covered it up. Although he decided against sacking her, he felt he’d left her running the garage too long and asked Christian about returning to work.
He returned to work where he acted as a confidante to Ziggy over her relationship troubles. He upset Tori and Christian by suggesting Christian move in with them, then had a back twinge and had to go for scans. It turned out to just be a pulled muscle but he was shocked when Christian and Tori announced they were not just living together but getting married, feeling they were rushing into things. This prompted Leah to accuse him of not valuing what they had because they weren’t married but he assured her that all that mattered was they were committed to each other. He intervened when Kieran Baldivis tried to hit Alf in the surf club, and was convinced by Leah to arrange a surprise engagement party for Tori and Christian. It had to be held at Salt with a day’s notice and he ended up telling Christian when Tori worried about the secrecy. He and Leah made plans to get their own place and arranged a mortgage, finding their dream house. However, after they had the offer accepted, the bank changed their minds about the mortgage. It looked like they were going to lose it so their agent Susie McAllister offered to sort out a private loan. He ended up going surfing for the first time since his surgery while waiting for news of the offer, then heard the house had been sold to someone else despite them giving Susie the money. When they confronted her, she passed it off as a misunderstanding. However, she failed to turn up for a meeting, fleeing town with their deposit.
Justin was frustrated that Leah seemed more interested in sorting out the theft from the surf club than facing up to their problems. He had a go at John, who had been dating Susie, blaming him for her actions, then had Leah blame him for not pulling out when they couldn’t get the loan. Justin went surfing to get away from her but his back seized up and he had to be saved from drowning by Dean. The incident did prompt him and Leah to agree to support each other. He cleared the air with John but then suffered back pains and headed back to hospital for scans, where he was put on stronger painkillers. He was concerned when Leah started spending all her time researching Susie online. When his GP refused to give him a repeat prescription without an examination, he began shopping around other doctors, while taking extra doses. He attempted to enter the surf carnival but had to go home, feeling woozy from the effects of the double dosing. He admitted taking a double dose to Leah but refused to go to hospital. He became frustrated with Leah chasing a lead on Susie, breaking Alf’s outboard motor. Leah realised he had been taking extra painkillers and tried to get him to reduce his dose, but he continued hiding packets from her. He was reluctant to meet her new ally Stephen Tennyson, but impressed that Stephen stopped her chasing every lead.
While making preparations to travel to Victoria for Tori and Christian’s wedding, he realised he didn’t have enough pills for the trip and began ringing around in a desperate attempt to get more. Ziggy saw him smash a cup in frustration which he asked her to keep quiet. He asked Christian for a prescription and instead was offered a free flight so he wouldn’t have to spend hours in a car. He explained his odd behaviour to Leah by saying his tumour might be back. On realising he wouldn’t be able to take his stockpile of medication on the plane, he decided they’d drive after all, leaving him furious when Christian postponed the wedding anyway. Leah then found his case full of pills and accused him of being addicted to them. Justin denied it, flushing the pills down the sink, but later tried desperately to retrieve them and then ordered some online. He took it out on Ziggy, firing her from the garage for trivial reasons, and then telling her that her work wasn’t up to it in order to keep her away while his drugs were delivered there. However, he ended up collapsing and being found by Leah.
Despite taking the pills, which had other ingredients added to them, he continued to deny being an addict and refused to let Tori treat him. He agreed to see a pain specialist but then disappeared from the hospital, being found by Alf and Leah. Leah was put in charge of his pain medication and Justin tried to find the pills, then begged Leah for more, although he accepted Ziggy returning to run the garage. He ordered more pills and told Ziggy not to touch the order, but she found them and called Leah. When Justin saw Leah hugging Stephen, he accused him of being after her, following him and beating him up. He was arrested by Senior Constable Cash Newman and charged with assault, being held in the cells overnight until he was bailed. He showed no sympathy when Susie was found dead and ended up being interviewed by the police as a suspect. He made an attempt to apologise to Stephen, Leah and Ziggy, but his erratic and insincere behaviour just alienated them further. He accused Leah of turning Tori against him, prompting Leah to announce she was moving out and Tori to tell Justin to leave instead. He got drunk in Salt and asked Dean to get him some painkillers, then reacted angrily on seeing Stephen with Leah again.
He broke into the farm house looking for the pills Ziggy had found, which had already been disposed of by Tori, then arranged to buy pills from a dealer which left him on a trip. He drove off anyway and came to in his car, having no idea what he’d done. When he heard Rachel Young had been killed in a hit and run, he was terrified it was him until he learned the driver had been caught, and finally admitted he was an addict. He refused to go to hospital though, insisting on going cold turkey at home. Susie’s phone was then found in his car but he collapsed during a police interview, being rushed to hospital.
On being released, he found out Leah thought he was guilty and tried to throw her out, but was quickly taken in for questioning again. He was released when Stephen was found to be the guilty one but didn’t feel able to move back in with Leah. After Tori arranged a dinner, he made things up with Leah and Ziggy, forgiving Leah for thinking he’d killed Susie. He convinced her to let him move into the cottage, then learned she had taken the money that Susie stole from them which had then been taken by Stephen. He spoke to Cash who admitted if the money was recovered it would be taken as evidence and possibly never returned, but still insisted to Leah that they needed to tell the police, resulting in Cash taking it away.
He went for a surf for the first time since his rehab, then was approached by Christian for help with proposing to Tori again. He kissed Leah and, after spending the day together, she agreed to him moving back in. Together, they set up Christian’s proposal plans, and ended up taking over the romantic dinner he had planned when he and Tori were called into hospital. He then learned the garage was being sold but turned down John’s offer to buy it, only for John to buy it anyway. Justin went to investigate an alarm at the garage and found it was John, checking the security system. He was tempted to have him charged but agreed to listen to his ideas. When he and Leah got their money back, he dreamed of buying the garage himself but John refused to withdraw his offer. When Justin tried to use John’s panel beating idea, John refused to give permission and Justin threatened to find new premises, then attempted to outbid John, before eventually abandoned the plan.
He went with Leah to catch Ryder and Chloe using the Diner after hours, ultimately helping them finish their order. He was confused when Cash turned up with a young man who claimed to live there, who turned out to be Leah’s nephew Theo. Theo quickly showed he would be trouble when it turned out he had been kicked out of home for selling fake car insurance. Justin was suspicious when Theo turned up injured, claiming someone had tried to steal his car, and got Theo to admit he had been beaten up by victims of his scam. Justin told Leah he didn’t want him staying there since it could put Grace in danger but did offer Theo a job at the garage. On his first day, Theo turned up late and then left early, claiming a migraine.
Justin took it in his stride when Tori told him she was looking at jobs in London, mainly because he thought she wouldn’t get one. He kept her interviewers busy when she was caught unprepared for an online interview for the job. He struggled when he found out she actually was leaving and didn’t feel able to give her away at her wedding. At the last minute however, he changed his mind. He was still upset but eventually accepted the benefits of him and Leah having the place to themselves. This nearly ended quickly when Leah wanted Theo to move in but she accepted that Justin was still getting used to his family not being there. However, Justin undermined his own argument by wanting to set a room aside for Ava.
He was shut out on the balcony when Salt went into lockdown over an organophosphate spill and worried about Leah still inside. When she was released from hospital, he agreed to Theo moving in. He covered for Theo staying out all night, leaving a mess and not turning up for work, until Leah revealed she already knew, then blew up at Theo when he asked about throwing Mason’s things out but later admitted he’d overreacted. He was amused by Marilyn’s new blunt personality after the poisoning and assisted Ryder and Theo with their online challenges, also advising Theo over his feelings for Chloe. He gained Marilyn as a house guest when Leah went away to look after VJ and warned her everyone was walking on eggshells around her. He was the one to convince her to leave hospital when she lost the feeling in her legs again. He joined John in giving Theo a telling off when he took the surf club buggy for a joyride and tried to keep him out of trouble by teaching him to surf. He put his foot in it with Ziggy by mentioning that Brody and Simone had had a baby and warned Ryder and Theo against doing any more challenges.
When he learned Ryder and Theo were both missing, he recalled getting an odd call from Ryder and learned he had been doing a buried alive challenge. He helped Roo rescue Ryder, who had been left trapped overnight after Theo had got caught in barbed wire, and defended Theo from Alf’s wrath, trying to diffuse the situation by telling Alf and Roo about the challenges. When Alf had another go at Theo, Justin insisted Theo and Ryder were equally to blame. However, he was unable to talk Alf out of having Theo charged for stealing the surf club buggy. He came to Ryder’s rescue when he locked himself in the store room at Salt and had a panic attack, and talked Theo out of leaving town after he was given community service, agreeing not to tell any of his family about it. He received an apology from Alf and Theo encouraged him to repair their friendship.
He arranged with Leah for her to secretly visit Dimitri to try and build bridges between him and Theo, which left Theo worried they didn’t want him. To prove otherwise, Justin offered Theo an apprenticeship and managed to talk Ziggy into accepting him, then met Dimitri when he turned up trying to get Theo to return home. Justin found Theo sleeping in the garage but he refused to talk, then witnessed him punching Dimitri, after which he and Leah learned from John that Dimitri had been beating Theo. When Dimitri came to the garage, Justin told him to stay away from his family and got punched by him. He was reluctant to talk to the police but gave a statement after Leah spoke to them anyway, leading to Dimitri leaving town. Justin was hurt when Theo confided in Ziggy rather than him after messing up his first assignment but they quickly got over it. When his guitar went missing, he worried Theo had sold it but Theo had merely borrowed it, explaining he had once owned one but Dimitri had smashed it. Justin gifted him his spare one. He and Leah were the ones who found PK King’s body. He reluctantly confirmed to Leah that Theo and Chloe were dating, cringing with everyone else when Leah interrogated Chloe about her intentions. When Chloe started spending more time at the house, she walked in on Justin in the shower. Having a word with Theo didn’t produce immediate results, so Justin told Chloe that Leah didn’t want her hanging around as much. Leah was unhappy with the comment and told him to sleep on the couch; instead, he went to stay at John’s. He and Leah stubbornly refused to make up until Chloe and Theo finally got them talking.
He attempted to help Theo with an assignment but ended up taking over and writing it himself. He celebrated when Theo got a distinction, giving away the fact he’d written the assignment to Leah, who insisted he report it to the uni, only for Theo to reveal he had deleted what Justin wrote and started again from scratch. Although Theo was cleared, it resuled in Justin having his accreditation suspended, meaning he couldn’t take on apprentices. He asked Ziggy to take over as Theo’s mentor and she was approved.
On learning Lyrik were in need of a new lead singer, Justin convinced Theo to audition. He assured Ziggy that Theo would only be doing a couple of rehearsals a week and a gig once a fortnight, only to learn the gigs at Salt were only a small part of Lyrik’s schedule. He worried Theo wouldn’t be able to manage both but Theo decided to try. On learning Lyrik didn’t have a van to get to the other gigs, Justin got permission from Leah to use their money to market the garage, then bought a van and had the garage sponsor it. He explained he had dreamed of being in a band when he was younger and had to give it up because of witness protection. After presenting them with the van, he got to join Lyrik for a jam session in their back garden. He discovered Theo was secretly seeing bandmate Kirby and agreed to keep quiet, then annoyed Ziggy by chatting to her about Theo’s success.
When Lyrik needed a new manager, he put himself forward but found himself out of his depth trying to negotiate their next gig. He tried to get Leah to ban him from doing it but instead she gave him some tips. He put her ideas into practice by trying to get Mackenzie to up the fees for the gigs at Salt, but when he threatened to cancel the gigs, Mackenzie called his bluff. He managed to get the band a replacement venue at the Reefton Lakes Palace and offered Ziggy a promotion to manager to keep an eye on the garage. After the first gig at the palace was a disaster, he went back to Mackenzie who agreed to hire Lyrik at the higher price in return for an exclusive twelve month contract for the area. After their house was vandalised, Leah confided in him that Heather Frazer, who she had had a run-in with, was Marilyn’s daughter. When Leah failed to return from an apology dinner supposedly arranged by Marilyn, Justin went to the police and told them everything that had happened with Heather, resulting in them finding out she had taken Leah and the others at the dinner prisoner.
He was one of the first to learn Ziggy was pregnant. When Ziggy failed to open up the garage, Justin confronted her about it and was frustrated when she saud she’d simply forgot. He accused her of having baby brain and decided to cut back her hours. However, this resulted in Ziggy thinking she didn’t have to come into work that day and Justin spending the day rushing around trying to collect John’s car. Ziggy ended up staying late to help him with the service. Dean eventually told him she had missed opening up because she had been taken to hospital to get stomach pains checked out. He had to cancel one of Lyrik’s gigs when Theo refused to go to it after hearing old lead singer Bob would be performing with them. As a result, he had to face an irate Mackenzie demanding compensation for loss of earnings. He joined Theo in putting on a free gig at Salt to make up for it.
He was asked by Cash to help restore his father’s old ute as a wedding vehicle for Felicity. He agreed to put a team together for Marilyn and Roo’s charity golf tournament but Leah refused to join him. When he found out Theo could play, he assumed he’d be on his team, even after learning he’d already agreed to be on John’s team. He struggled to find a third member of his team and he and John ended up making a bet where whoever finished last out of the two of them would donate $1000 to the charity. He eventually gained Dean as a third team member but was unaware of how good he was, so resorted to sabotaging John’s team’s golf buggy. Theo tried to get him to own up but he backed out, only for Roo, Alf and Marilyn to find out anyway and disqualify his team. Not only did he have to pay the bet, but he cost Dean the car that he and Ziggy needed and ended up in Leah’s bad books. He told Ziggy he’d find a car for them to restore together and also decided to work at the community kitchen, while he and Mackenzie made plans to get a nursery set up for the baby. He advised Theo against telling Kirby his feelings about marriage but Theo chose to listen to Leah instead. He accompanied Leah when she left Tane and Felicity’s wedding to fix the cake. They nearly collided with an out of control Felicity and Eden, crashing, with Leah being impaled and having to be rushed into surgery. Cash blamed Justin when it turned out the brakes had failed but it later turned out they’d been cut. When Leah was discharged, Justin was glued to her side. Alf and Leah convinced him she needed space so he started helping Theo and Kirby sort out band business. Mackenzie put it to him that Theo and Kirby could perform as a duo and he managed to get them to agree.
Leah suggested he join her on a trip to Cyprus to see VJ and Luc but he didn’t feel able to leave the band or the garage. He was the one who found Ziggy when she fell asleep at the garage while struggling with motherhood and was one of the last to know Ziggy was leaving town with Dean and Izzy but immediately accepted it. He was pleased by a visit from Ava, who explained she had run away after Nina objected to her talking to a boy online. Justin tried to arrange a meeting with her boyfriend but Ava said she’d made him up to explain spending so much time online. He was exasperated when Ava snuck out to join Theo and Kirby at a gig she was too young for and was then presented with a scrap book proving Ava was the obsessed fan who had been sending Theo presents. He confronted her but she convinced him it was just a crush she had got over and he didn’t understand why Theo still felt uncomfortable.
He was forced to accept Ava had a problem when Leah showed him photos she had taken of herself in Theo’s bedroom and confronted her about it but it descended into an argument. Ava ran off and Theo told him she’d got into a van with a stranger. He then saw a message Ava had sent Theo suggesting she was in danger and rushed to the location. He assaulted Conor, a man he believed had attacked Ava but turned out to be innocent, resulting in him being charged. His lawyer, David, warned him the prosecution were pushing for a prison term and he decided to send Ava away. She initially wanted to stay and support him but a chat with Leah convinced her to go back to the city. He began preparing for jail, including considering giving up the garage lease. He asked Leah not to come into court and asked David to let him take the stand, with Alf stepping in as a character witness. He was given a community order, instructed to do 500 hours community service and undergo anger management counselling.
He was puzzled when his counsellor, Amanda, was more interested in working out the root cause of his behaviour than teaching him coping techniques but she helped him conclude that he’d taken on the role of protecting the family in witness protection and never got out of that mindset. He felt this meant there was no way for him to change but Leah insisted he had to try. His first day at community service was a house clearance where he clashed with Robbie Carpenter, who tried to enlist his help stealing copper wire and a watch. When Robbie threatened to report Cash for bullying, Justin warned him he’d report him in turn if he didn’t drop it. He then found a note in his bag asking for food and help. Checkng out the address indicated, he came across teenager Andrew Lawrence, who’d been left alone and nearly starved to death, and took him to hospital. Justin took him in with Leah’s agreement and struggled with his lack of social skills. Cash informed him that Andrew’s father Archie had died of a heart attack while out driving three weeks earlier and Andrew had been reported missing at the age of four, with his father having been a member of a cult. Justin welcomed a woman believed to be Andrew’s mother Esther and reassured Andrew about the fact he didn’t recognise her. Andrew ended up deciding to go and live with her and Justin was furious when Cash admitted she was an imposter: the cult’s leader, Margot Dafoe. They went to the cult’s compound together but Andrew refused to leave with them. Justin stopped Theo going there himself.
He sneaked back into the compound while Cash kept the cult busy and tried to get Andrew to leave with him but Andrew instead handed him over to the cult, who again quickly showed him the exit. He was left feeling Andrew had been brainwashed and had to break the news to Leah when she returned from visiting Stella, getting an angry response from her. He then found Andrew had placed a note in his pocket warning him to stay away or people would get hurt and realised he hadn’t been brainwashed after all. He went back to the compound on his own only to be knocked out and locked up in a container. Andrew encouraged him to make a run for it but he was shot in the leg with an arrow and dumped back in the container. Andrew gave him first aid and Justin convinced him to find his phone and call Leah, resulting in the police descending on the area and Justin getting taken to hospital. He tried to make sure Andrew felt safe with them afterwards and asked Rose to tell him the cult wouldn’t come after them. She was unable to make promises so he instead offered to install security cameras. However, he was forced to admit it had backfired when Andrew spent all his time glued to the screens. He was suspicious of Andrew’s sister Tegan when she turned up hoping he’d live with her but was told to back off. He tried to help Lyrik organise their recording sessions for an album but they told him they didn’t want help.
When the social worker gave the okay to Andrew living Tegan, Justin encouraged Andrew to stay with them. Andrew agreed but Theo revealed he really wanted to live with Tegan and just didn’t want to let Justin down. Justin told Andrew to go with Tegan. He was the one that convinced Alf to see a doctor about his hearing problems. He set about arranging a launch party for Lyrik’s album and tried to stop Kirby putting all the publicity responsibilities onto an uncomfortable Theo, but this resulted in her insisting they only have a professional relationship from now on. He managed to get the El Ray Bar in the city as a venue for the launch but the only date was in two weeks. When they cancelled as a result of an electric fault, Justin got another venue, the Palais Metro…for that night. Lyrik just about managed to pull everything together in time but afterwards he learned Kirby had been meeting with Forrest Duke, who managed solo artists. He called a band meeting to discuss Kirby but was left wondering if he’d handled it right when she felt ambushed. He was powerless to stop her deciding to leave.
He convinced Theo, Eden and Remi to cover any gigs and interviews between them and talked Kirby out of announcing the split. However, this infuriated Forrest, who retaliated by withdrawing permission for Lyrik to use any songs Kirby had worked on. Justin tried to pitch an evening of cover songs to Mackenzie but she cancelled the gig. He and Remi went to see an entertainment lawyer but they were unable to do anything. Instead, he approached Forrest, suggesting he sign Theo to his label and train Justin to manage him for free. Although Forrest liked Theo’s audition, Theo turned down the offer. He decided to go back to his apprenticeship and Justin managed to appeal his ban in order to mentor him again. Eden and Remi showed him a song they’d written about betrayal, clearly inspired by Kirby leaving the band, and he warned them there’d be no way back if they performed it.
He was aghast when Leah invited Marilyn to stay with them after a falling out with Roo but couldn’t bring himself to tell Marilyn she wasn’t welcome. He and Leah were relieved when she temporarily moved back in with Roo and then heard they had won a holiday as part of a scheme to reward local businesses. However, it turned out to be a trap as they were kidnapped by Vita Nova and left in an abandoned factory to die. Justin was injured during an escape attempt, bringing a load of debris down on himself while trying to climb out. He was left with cracked ribs and other injuries. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Leah asked him to marry her and he accepted. After Leah managed to get help, he was rushed to hospital with internal bleeding and a punctured lung and needed emergency surgery. He was left at risk of organ failure and Leah was told to prepare for the worst. He had a dream of Leah and Theo mourning him and Leah accusing him of giving up, which prompted him to come round. He told Leah he wouldn’t hold her to marrying him but Leah convinced him it was what she wanted. Not long after, Lyrik told him they’d reformed and wanted him to be their manager again. An orderly at the hospital, Jordan, turned out to be a Vita Nova member and tried to kill Justin, but was interrupted by a police guard and arrested, with the cult being closed down.
On his release, Justin got Theo to send him photos of engagement rings and picked one out for Leah but her irritable behaviour led him to wonder if she was regretting the engagement. She told him she was just worried about the wedding preparations so he said he’d handle it, roping in Theo to help. He then learned Leah had been lying about going to work and looking up sleep disorders online. Leah tried to downplay it but eventually admitted she had been driving round to GPs trying to get sleeping pills after suffering from repeated nightmares. He lay with her until she fell asleep. Just as he thought things were on track, he learned Leah had been in a minor accident after falling asleep at the wheel. She decided she needed to focus on herself and postponed the wedding. Justin asked her to keep it quiet, hoping she’d change her mind, but when Roo mentioned plans to throw an engagement party for her, Justin told her what was going on. However, this upset Leah, who accused him of going behind her back. Theo then called him and told him Leah was at the police station convinced Justin was working for Vita Nova. Leah ran off and Justin went looking for her at the Diner. When he broke in, she threatened him with a knife. Bree managed to talk her down and she checked herself into a clinic. Justin learned Kirby and Theo had been writing a song for the wedding and asked to finish it with her, becoming obsessed as he saw it as the only thing he could do to help Leah. When Theo returned from a visit to his mother’s, Justin apologised for taking over and tried to reassure him there was nothing else he could have done to help Leah.