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The District Court is the principal trial court in South Australia.
The Court’s work is in four areas: civil, criminal, administrative and disciplinary, and criminal injuries. The District Court can hear criminal matters, except for offences related to murder and treason. It also has jurisdiction over criminal injuries compensation claims. The District Court deals with administrative and disciplinary matters through statutory tribunals, such as the Medical Professional Conduct Tribunal and Equal Opportunity Tribunal, and also deals with matters brought to the Court itself under specific Acts such as the Guardianship and Administration Act, the Mental Health Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Land Agents Act and the Travel Agents Act. In these cases, judges will usually sit with assessors who are experts in the field.
The Court sits in Adelaide and conducts civil circuits regularly at Mount Gambier and at Berri, Port Pirie, Whyalla and Port Lincoln as required. It also conducts circuits at Mount Gambier and Port Augusta for criminal matters.
The Chief Judge is the principal judicial officer and is responsible for its administration. There are 19 judges who preside over all of the divisions of the Court, and three masters who conduct hearings in the Civil, Criminal Injuries and Administrative and Disciplinary Divisions. For more information on judges of the District Court, click here.
Civil
The District Court exercises essentially the same civil jurisdiction as the Supreme Court (except for Probate or Admiralty), and claims for amounts greater than $40,000 are administered towards a final settlement or judgement.
For information on the District Court Civil Registry, click here.
Criminal
The District Court has jurisdiction to try a charge of any offence except treason or murder. Trials are conducted before a judge sitting alone or with a jury. Almost all such matters have been referred to the District Court following a committal process in the Magistrates Court.
For information on the District Court Criminal Registry, click here.
Criminal Injuries
All applications for compensation under the Victims of Crime Act, 2001 are brought in the District Court. Final determination is made by a judge or master.
For more information on Criminal Injuries Compensation, click here.
Administrative and Disciplinary
Various Acts of Parliament provide for an appellate jurisdiction to the District Court. These include the Mental Health Act, the Guardianship and Administration Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Meat Hygiene Act, and the Passenger Transport Act. The judges of the District Court also preside over a number of statutory tribunals, including the Medical Professional Conduct Tribunal and the Dental Professional Conduct Tribunal.
For more information on appeals and tribunals, click here.
The Civil Registry receives and processes all documents lodged in the civil jurisdiction of the court, and is the principal point of reference for enquiries from the legal profession and the public.
For contact details, click here, and opening hours, click here.
The Criminal Registry is a centralised service which serves both Supreme and District Criminal Courts. It ensures that the criminal listing and caseflow management system is administered efficiently and maximises the use of judicial resources. It receives and processes Magistrates Court committal files, informations, (the documents lodged by the Director of Public Prosecutions to initiate criminal proceedings), as well as applications for bail, bail variation and review of bail applications for leave to appeal.
For contact details, click here, and opening hours, click here.
More that 40 staff provide support services for the judicial officers of the District Court. The judicial support officer is responsible for the provision of a comprehensive and confidential secretarial service as required by a judge both in and out of court.
Masters of the court have a secretary who records the outcomes of all hearings and provides keyboard and administrative services.
The Registrar
The Registrar is the principal administrative officer and is responsible for managing the provision of executive, registry and support services to the court, ensuring that government and court policy are effectively implemented and proper management objectives for the court are achieved. The Registrar is supported in this by staff of the Civil and Criminal Registries, the judges’ associates and secretaries, and staff of the Sir Samuel Way Library.
Associates
District Court judges’ associates provide a comprehensive professional legal service to the judges of the court. It is the task of an associate to render personal, confidential and professional assistance to the judge to whom they are allocated, both in and out of court.
The District Court has established a system of caseflow management. Caseflow standards state that 90% of all actions commenced should be disposed of by settlement or by judgment within 12 months of commencement or within nine months of the action being served on the defendant (whichever is the lesser period) and all actions are to be disposed of within 21 months of commencement or within 18 months of service on the defendant.
Due to legislative changes, the number of personal injuries claims has declined. The number of commercial cases is growing, and overall, the complexity and length of trials are on the increase.
The District Court was established in 1969 to take some of the pressure off the Supreme Court of South Australia. However, it was not constituted by its own Act of Parliament until 1991. For more information on the history of the District Court, click here.
The District Court of South Australia is located at Sir Samuel Way Building, Victoria Square, Adelaide, South Australia. Both criminal and civil cases are heard in this building.
Civil Registry
Lower ground floor
Sir Samuel Way Building
Criminal Registry
Third floor
Sir Samuel Way
Building
Civil Enquiries
Mail: GPO
Box 2465, Adelaide, South Australia 5001
Telephone: 61 8 8204 0289
Fax: 61 8 8204 0544
E-mail:
district.civil@courts.sa.gov.au
Criminal Enquiries
Mail: GPO Box 2465, Adelaide, South Australia 5001
Telephone: 61 8 8204 0484
Fax: 61 8 8204 0543
E-mail: ccrcs@courts.sa.gov.au
Registrar's Office
Mail: GPO Box 2465, Adelaide, South Australia 5001
Telephone: 61 8 8204 0189
Fax: 61 8 8204 0545
E-mail:
dcregistrar@courts.sa.gov.au
Civil Registry
9.00am to
5.00pm
Criminal Registry
9.00am to 5.00pm
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