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Jurisdictions of the Local Court
Criminal Jurisdiction
The Local Court of New South Wales handles the majority of criminal matters in the state, including summary offences and indictable offences that can be dealt with summarily. It also conducts committal hearings to determine if there is enough evidence for serious indictable offences to proceed to trial in a higher court. For more information, see Criminal Jurisdiction.
Civil Jurisdiction
The Local Court of New South Wales deals with civil disputes for claims up to $100,000. The Local Court has two divisions to determine civil cases - the Small Claims Division (hears claims up to $20,000) and the General Division (hears claims over $20,000 and up to $100,000). See the Civil Jurisdiction for more information.
Children's Court
The Children's Court is a specialist court that determines criminal cases against children and young people, as well as matters relating to the care and protection of children and young people in New South Wales. Children’s Court cases are dealt with by Local Court Magistrates in locations where a specialist Children’s Magistrate is not available. More information is available on the Children's Court website.
Coronial Jurisdiction
The State Coroner is responsible for overseeing and coordinating all coronial services in NSW. A death is reportable to a Coroner if the person died:
- A violent or unnatural death
- A sudden death where the cause is unknown
- Under suspicious or unusual circumstances
- In circumstances where the person had not been attended by a medical practitioner during the period of six months immediately before the person's death
- In circumstances where the person's death was not the reasonably expected outcome of a health-related procedure carried out in relation to the person while in or temporarily absent from a declared mental health facility.
All NSW Magistrates are Coroners and have jurisdiction to conduct an inquest.
More information is available on the Coroners Court website.
Industrial Jurisdiction
All Local Court Magistrates are appointed as Industrial Magistrates. Matters arising out of industrial disputes can be filed and dealt with at any Local Court in NSW. Industrial Magistrates may exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction under a broad range of State and Commonwealth legislation. The industrial jurisdiction deals with such matters as:
- Recovery of money owing under Industrial Instruments, for example Awards, Enterprise Agreements and Statutory Entitlements
- Prosecutions for breach of industrial instruments
- Appeals from various administrative decisions
- Prosecutions for statutory breaches.
To search for Chief Industrial Magistrate's Court cases use the Interactive Court List. The Chief Industrial Magistrate's Court matters are incorporated into the Downing Centre Local Court list. Type 'Downing Centre' as the location for your search.
Additional resources for Industrial Jurisdiction
You can obtain information about what award relates to you from the following government sites:
- State Awards – NSW Office of Industrial Relations
- Commonwealth Awards – Fair Work Australia
- For forms and sample forms use for industrial disputes, see Local Court forms.
- For information about Industrial Magistrate fees, see Local Court fees.
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