AGY-7531 | District Court of New South Wales

Full description

The District Court Act, 1973 (Act No 9, 1973) which came into effect on 1 July 1973 abolished the existing District Courts and Courts of Quarter Sessions. The District Court of New South Wales was reconstituted as a single court of record with both civil jurisdiction and criminal and special jurisdiction throughout New South Wales. (1)

The Chief Judge was the principal judicial officer of the New South Wales and was appointed by the Governor of New South Wales. The Chief Judge was supported by an executive office to monitor the workload of the district court, allocate judicial resources and to schedule court sittings at locations throughout New South Wales. (2)

The District Court was the intermediate Court in the State’s judicial hierarchy, and a registrar and bailiff was established for each proclaimed place of the Court. It was a trial court and had an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court presided over a range of tribunals including hearing appeals of Local Court and Children's Court decisions, including care proceedings in the Children's Court. The Court sat permanently in Sydney at the Downing Centre (in crime), and at the John Maddison Tower (in civil) as well as various regional courts around the state. (3)

In 1984, the District Court Rule Committee was established, conferring powers on that Committee to make rules of procedure and practice in relation to the District Court of New South Wales and making further provision with respect to the criminal and special jurisdiction of that Court, and for other purposes.(4)

The Department of Courts Administration was established on 1 July 1991 when the courts administration function was removed from the Department of the Attorney General. (4) Attorney General’s Department [III] was created on 5 April 1995 when the Department of Courts Administration was abolished and all branches were added to the new and enlarged Attorney General’s Department. (5)

The Compensation Court Repeal Act 2002 commenced on 1 January 2004 transferred certain disputes and judges to the District Court from the abolished NSW Compensation Court in what was commonly referred to as its ‘residual jurisdiction’ including the Work Health and Safety Act cases. (6)

Although the Court is constituted by its judiciary, officers of the Attorney General’s Department provided the Court with the necessary corporate, financial, administrative, registry and other support services until 2006. This was continued by the Registry Office under the Director Court Services and Principal Registrar. (7)

Procedures were developed to accommodate the introduction of the new Civil Procedures Act 2005 and the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, which commenced on 15 August 2005. These Acts which restricted the right to commence civil actions and placed caps on legal fees resulted in a decline in registrations through the Court. (8)

From 1 July 2009 the Attorney General's Department [III] was abolished and its functions were transferred to the new Principal Department, the Department of Justice and Attorney General. (9)

On 1 January 2012, the District Court was vested with a summary jurisdiction to determine summary prosecutions pursuant to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. (10)

On 23 April 2014 the name of the Department of Attorney General and Justice was changed to the Department of Police and Justice. (11) On 1 July 2014 the name of the Department of Police and Justice was changed to the Department of Justice. (12)

On 1 July 2019 the Department of Justice was abolished. Its former staff transferred to the Department of Communities and Justice. (13)

Endnotes
1. NSW Government Gazette, 8 June 1973, p.2158. The District Courts Act, 1973, s.8.
2. District Court website, Chief Judge, https://www.districtcourt.nsw.gov.au/district-court/about-us/chief-judge-and-judicial-officers.html (accessed 21 December 2022).
3. District Court, Annual Review 2003, p.5; The District Courts Act, 1973, s.12.
4. District Court (Procedure) Amendment Act 1984 (Act No. 170, 1984).
4. NSW Government Gazette, 28 June 1991, p. 5335.
5. NSW Government Gazette, 5 April 1995, p.1860 (q).
6. Compensation Court Repeal Act 2002 (Act. No 23, 2002); District Court website, Jurisdiction, https://www.districtcourt.nsw.gov.au/district-court/about-us/jurisdiction.html (accessed 21 December 2022).
7. District Court, Annual Review 2005, p.3.
8. Ibid., p.6.
9. Public Sector Employment and Management (Departmental Amalgamations) Order 2009 (2009 No 352) cls. 20; NSW Legislation website, 27 July 2009.
10. District Court website, History, https://www.districtcourt.nsw.gov.au/district-court/about-us/history.html (accessed 21 December 2022).
11. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Ministers and Public Service Agencies) Order 2014 (2014 No 233); NSW Legislation website, 23 April 2014.
12. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Miscellaneous Agencies) Order 2014 (2014 No 413); NSW Legislation website, 30 June 2014.
13. Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service Agencies) Order 2019 (2019-159) cl. 10 (2); NSW Legislation website, 2 April 2019.