AGY-6365 | Local Court of New South Wales

Full description

The Local Court of New South Wales was established by section 7 of the Local Courts Act 2007 (Act No.93, 2007) as a court of record. The Act repealed the former Local Courts Act 1982 (Act No.164, 1982). (1)

The Act appointed a Chief Magistrate of the Local Court who previously held office as the Chief Magistrate under the former Act. (2) Existing magistrates and registrars were re-appointed under this new Act. (3)

The Chief Magistrate was the principal judicial officer of the New South Wales Local Court and was appointed by the Governor of New South Wales pursuant to the Local Court Act 2007. The Chief Magistrate was supported by the Chief Magistrate's Executive Office that monitored the workload of the local court, allocated judicial resources and scheduled court sittings at locations throughout NSW. New South Wales Local Court had the largest number of judicial officers in a summary jurisdiction in Australia. Under the direction of the Chief Magistrate, the staff of the executive office provided statewide administrative support to 140 magistrates (130 full time magistrates and ten part time magistrates). The Executive Office was also responsible for the publication of sittings schedules, rosters, Chief Magistrate's circulars, local court Practice Directions/Notes, listing of cases and collation of statistical information. The executive office co-ordinated magistrate's travel across the state to ensure requirements for sittings were met and co-ordinated magistrates attendance at various conferences throughout the year. Under the supervision of the Chief Magistrate and Deputy Chief Magistrates, the executive office was also responsible for the day to day listing management and co-ordination of the Downing Centre and Central Local Courts and the facilitation of strategic and effective working relationships with clients and stakeholders. (4)

The Court has a civil jurisdiction consisting of the jurisdiction conferred on it by Part 3 of the Act; a special jurisdiction conferred on it by or under any other Act or law with respect to proceedings to which Part 4 applies; and, a criminal jurisdiction conferred on it by or under any other Act or law with respect to criminal proceedings. For the purpose of exercising its civil jurisdiction, the Court is divided into the General Division, and the Small Claims Division. The Court, wherever sitting, has jurisdiction throughout the whole of New South Wales. (5)

Endnotes
1. Local Courts Act 2007 (Act No.93, 2007), s.7 and s.5.
2. Ibid., s.14.
3. Ibid.
4. Local Court website, About us, Chief Magistrate, https://www.localcourt.nsw.gov.au/local-court/about-us/chief-magistrate.html, (accessed 15 December 2022).
5. Local Courts Act 2007 (Act No.93, 2007). s.9-11.